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'RET)  CROSS  T1AG 

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MAKEL,  1.  'BOA.'RDMAN 


',     u^ARY    ) 

UNIVERSITY  OF 
CALIFORNIA 

1      SAN  DIEGO       \ 


0 


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AT  HOME  AND  ABROAD 


Copyright  by  Gutmann  &  Gutmann,  New  York 

A   SUNBEAM    IN    A    DARK    CORNER 


UNDER 
THE  RED  CROSS  FLAG 

AT  HOME  AND  ABROAD 


BY 

MABEL  T.  BOARDMAN 

CHAIRMAN  NATIONAL  RELIEF  BOARD,  AMERICAN  RED  CROSS 


WITH  A  FOREWORD  BY 

WOODROW  WILSON,  PRESIDENT 


SIXTEEN  ILLUSTRATIONS 


PHILADELPHIA  AND  LONDON 

J.  B.  LIPPINCOTT  COMPANY 

1915 


COPYRIGHT,    igiS,   BT  AMERICAN   RED   CROSS 


PUBLISHED  OCTOBER, 


PRINTED   BT  J.   B.    LIPPINCOTT  COMPANY 

AT  THE  WASHINGTON  SQUARE  PRESS 

PHILADELPHIA,   U.  B.  A. 


TO 
MY  FATHER  AND  MOTHER 


FOBEWOBD 

To  0001;  the  duties  that  war  or  disaster  impose  upon  the 
generous  impulses  of  a  nation  with  any  degree  of  success  and  efficiency, 
united  action  is,  of  course,  necessary  under  the  centralized  control 
of  experienced  And  responsible  public  servants.    For  this. reason,  and 
also  to  conform  to  the  requirements  of  the  Convention  of  Geneva,  the 
American  Sed  Cross  ras  created  by  Act  of  Congress,  v.  I  believe  that" 
this  great  organization  will  more  and  more  enjoy  the  confidence  and 
receive  the  support  of  the  people  of  the  United  States  as  its  .purposes 
and  methods  become  more  widely  known  and  more  thoroughly  understood. 
It  seena  to  me  very  fortunate,  therefore,  tfcat  a  book  dealing  with  thfr 
history  and  achievements  of  the  Bed  Cross  should  have  been  written  by 
one  so.  long  familiar  with  its  work  as  Miss  Boardmsn,  and  I  commend  this 
book  to  the  careful  perusal  of  all  who  are  interested  in  the  develop- 
ment of  the  great  work  the  Red  Cross  represents. 

In  common  with  all  Americans  who  have  been  observant  of  the 
American  Bed  Cross,  I  am  one  of  its  sincere  admirers.     I  admire  not. 
.only  the  work  done  but  the  people  who  h&ve  done  it  and  the  way  in  which 
it  has  been  done.     I. esteem  It  an  honor  to  be  connected  with  the  society. 
I  have  had  occasion  to. observe  at  somewhat  short  range  Its  work  in  con- 
nection with  many  distressing  conditions  resulting  both  from  disaster 
and.  from  v&r.     I  know  how  admirably  Its  officers  responded  to  these  calls 
;and  with  what  a  practiced  hand  they  responded.;  how  clearly  the  society 
understood  its  duties;  and  what  excellent   instrumental  it  lea  it  had  throng 
which  to  act.     I  therefore. feel  that  direct. contact  with  the  Ked  Croat 


'Justifies  me  In  expressing  my  admiration  for  its  pa,st  accomplish-1 
ments  and  my  hope  for  its  continued  success  In  the  noble  labors* 
for  the  benefit  of  mankind  to  vshich  it  is  devoted. 


President  of  the  American.  "Red 


PREFACE 

As  far  as  the  writer  knows,  there  does  not  exist  in 
English  any  historical  sketch  of  the  Red  Cross  in  general 
or  of  the  American  Red  Cross  in  particular  Several  years 
ago  Miss  Clara  Barton  published  a  book  consisting  mainly 
of  addresses  and  reports,  which  is  now  out  of  print. 
Though  the  first  efforts  to  create  a  permanent  society  for 
the  aid  of  the  sick  and  wounded  in  war  under  the  Treaty 
of  Geneva  were  made  by  Dr.  Burrows  and  other  prom- 
inent members  of  the  Sanitary  Commission  shortly  after 
the  close  of  the  Civil  War,  no  mention  is  made  of  this 
association  in  this  early  book,  and  it  is  almost  impossible 
to  gain  from  the  compiled  reports  and  addresses  a  clear 
comprehension  of  the  organization,  nature  and  duties  of 
national  associations  and  their  international  relation- 
ship. 

From  1881,  when  a  permanent  society  was  finally 
created,  until  1905,  when  it  was  reincorporated  by  Act 
of  Congress,  there  was  developed  neither  membership 
nor  organization.  Since  1905  the  American  Red  Cross 
has  entered  into  so  many  active  fields  of  relief  and  has 
so  greatly  developed,  both  in  organization  and  efficiency, 
that  a  volume  devoted  to  the  subject  seems  due  to  the 
people  of  this  country,  from  whom  it  receives  such  lib- 
eral and  generous  support. 

To  Miss  Lavinia  L.  Dock's  interesting  "History  of 
Nursing;"  to  American  and  foreign  reports,  including 
those  of  the  Sanitary  Commission;  to  our  Red  Cross 
Magazine ;  to  members  of  our  personnel  both  at  home  and 
abroad;  and  to  many  others,  the  writer  is  indebted  for 
material  utilized  in  this  present  volume.  Not  within 
these  leaves  are  registered  the  names  and  labors  of  the 
thousands  who  have  given  time  and  valiant  service  to 

8 


10  PREFACE 

our  American  organization.  This  it  was  not  possible 
to  do.  Not  in  written  records  lie  their  deeds  engraved, 
but  in  the  hearts  of  those  whose  sorrows  and  whose  suf- 
ferings they  have  helped  to  lessen  by  their  unselfish 
efforts. 

Whenever  war  or  serious  calamity  arouses  universal 
interest  in  the  Red  Cross,  the  requests  for  information 
increase  a  hundred  fold,  and  at  the  same  time  the  mem- 
bers of  its  staff  are  overwhelmed  with  duties  that  active 
relief  measures  bring  upon  them.  Notwithstanding  the 
fact  that  "Qui  s' excuse  s' accuse,"  the  writer  believes  it 
not  unfair  to  say  that  "Under  the  Red  Cross  Flag"  has 
been  written  at  such  a  time  of  stress  and  during  long 
drawn-out  pressure  of  work,  with  many  attendant  prob- 
lems and  anxieties.  No  effort  has  been  made  to  produce 
a  detailed  and  complete  history  of  the  organization  here 
or  elsewhere.  Such  would  require  years  of  study  and 
scores  of  volumes,  for  which  there  was  neither  time  nor 
ability,  and  for  which  the  general  public  has  no  desire. 
By  this  labor  of  love  the  hope  has  been  rather  to  place 
briefly  and  simply  before  the  American  people  something 
of  the  story  of  the  Red  Cross,  its  origin,  development, 
especially  in  our  own  country,  and  its  services  for 
humanity. 

September  15,  1915. 
Washington,  D.  C. 

MABEL  T.  BOABDJJAN. 


CONTENTS 


CHAPTER  PAGE 

I.  WAR  RELIEF  IN  EARLY  AGES. — BATTLES  OP  THE  HE- 
BREWS.— OFFICIAL  EGYPTIAN  PHYSICIANS. — A  GREEK 
RELIEF  EXPEDITION. — ROMAN  MILITARY  HOSPITALS. 
— THE  KNIGHTS  HOSPITALLERS  OP  THE  CRTTSADES. — 
LATER  EUROPEAN  CONFLICTS. — SUFFERING  IN  OUR 
REVOLUTIONARY  DAYS. — NAPOLEONIC  WARS. — NEW 
INFLUENCES. — FLORENCE  NIGHTINGALE  AT  SCUTARI.  . .  17 

II.  HENRI  DUNANT. — THE  BATTLE  OP  SOLFBRINO. — MEAS- 
URES FOR  TURNING  THEORY  INTO  PRACTICE. — THE 
TREATY  OP  GENEVA. — OUR  SHARE  IN  ITS  ADOPTION.  . .  32 

III.  A  PRECURSOR  OF  THE  RED  CROSS. — ORIGIN  OF  THE 

SANITARY  COMMISSION. — PREVENTIVE  MEASURES. — 
OFFICIAL  OBSTACLES. — INQUIRY  AND  ADVICE. — RE- 
MARKABLE DEFEAT  INVESTIGATION. — HOSPITAL  IN- 
SPECTION.— LEAFLETS  BY  SPECIALISTS. — EVACUATION 
BY  BOAT  AND  TRAIN. — SOLDIERS'  AID  SOCIETIES. — 
LACK  OF  FUNDS. — CALIFORNIA  SAVES  THE  DAY. — SAN- 
ITARY FAIRS. — DISTRIBUTION  OP  SUPPLIES. — TRANS- 
PORTATION PROBLEMS. — FIRST  USE  OP  TREATY  INSIG- 
NIA.— RELIEF  CORPS  DUTIES. — HOSPITAL  DIRECTORY. 
— UNITED  STATES  CHRISTIAN  COMMISSION. — CON- 
CLUSIONS   46 

IV.  WOMEN  IN  WAR. — Miss  DOROTHEA  Drx. — Miss  CLARA 

BARTON. — "MOTHER  BICKERDYKE." — HELP  FOR  THE 
ENEMIES'  WOUNDED. — A  VIVANDEERE. — MRS.  BAR- 
LOW'S STORY. — RELIEF  WORK  IN  CONFEDERACY. — 
LACK  OF  RECORDS. — SOLDIERS'  AID  SOCIETIES. — HOS- 
PITALS.— CAPTAIN  SALLIE  TOMPKINS. — PRIVATIONS 
AND  INVENTIONS  OF  THE  WOMEN  OF  THE  SOUTH. — 
AN  INCIDENT  IN  THE  TAKING  OP  COLUMBIA 65 

V.  AN  ATTEMPT  TO  ORGANIZE  AN  AMERICAN  RED  CROSS. — 
WAS  THE  TREATY  OF  GENEVA  AN  ENTANGLING  ALLI- 
ANCE?— EARLY  DAYS  OP  THE  AMERICAN  RED  CROSS. — 
DISASTERS. — CUBAN  RECONCENTRADOS. — THE  SPAN- 
ISH WAR 79 

11 


12  CONTENTS 

CHAPTER  PAGE 

VI.  REASONS  FOB  REORGANIZATION. — A  NATIONAL  SOCIETY. 
— WHAT  is  THE  AMERICAN  RED  CROSS? — DANGER  IN 
OUB  CHARACTERISTICS 95 

VII.  How  IN  PEACE  WE  PREPARE  FOB  WAR. — HUMAN  SAC- 
RIFICES ON  THE  ALTAR  OF  INDUSTRY. — TOLLS  THAT 
NEPTUNE  TAKES. — FIELD  COLUMNS  AND  WAR  ORDERS. 
— NEWS  FROM  THE  FRONT 104 

VIII.  NURSING  IN  THE  CIVIL  WAR. — THE  FIRST  AMERICAN 
TRAINING  SCHOOL. — THE  RED  CROSS  NURSING  SERV- 
ICE.— THE  SENTIMENTAL  AMATEUR. — LOVE  OF  ADVEN- 
TURE VERSUS  HUMANITY  AND  PATRIOTISM. — WHAT  THE 
LAY  WOMEN  CAN  Do. — THE  TRUE  NURSE  AND  HER 
QUALIFICATIONS. — ORGANIZATION  AND  MOBILIZATION. 
— USE  AND  NUMBER  IN  FIRE,  FLOOD  AND  PESTILENCE.  118 

IX.  ALWAYS  SOME  WORK  SOMEWHERE  FOR  THE  RED  CROSS. 
— NATURE  KEEPS  IT  BUSY. — DESTRUCTION  BY  FIRE 
AND  EARTHQUAKE. — SAN  FRANCISCO. — Loss  OF  HUMAN 
LIFE. — CHERRY  MINE  DISASTER. — How  THE  RED 
CROSS  BEAT  JACK  FROST. — A  PHILIPPINE  POMPEII. — 
A  CITY  HOLOCAUST  AND  AN  OCEAN  WRECK. — A  HUN- 
DRED FLOODED  TOWNS 140 

X.  PUBLIC  IDEAS  OF  RELIEF  MEASURES. — BREAD  LINES. — 
CLOTHING  BUREAUS. — REFUGEE  CAMPS. — MONEY. — 
RED  CROSS  METHODS. — REHABILITATION 156 

XI.  THE  CHRISTMAS  SEAL. — ITS  ANCESTORS,  THE  SANITARY 
FAIR  STAMPS. — ITS  FOREIGN  RELATIONS,  THE  EURO- 
PEAN CHARITY  STAMPS. — How  THE  SEALS  ARE  SOLD. — 
A  DAVID  AGAINST  GOLIATH. — THE  DOUBLE  CROSS 169 

XII.  THE  SICK  IN  SMALL  COMMUNITIES. — THE  KOENIGSBERG 
SYSTEM. — BEGINNINGS  OF  A  GREAT  NATIONAL  WORK. 
— HUMOR  AND  PATHOS  IN  THE  TOWN  AND  COUNTRY 
NURSING  LIFE. — A  SUGGESTION 179 

XIII.  ELEVATING  THE  NATIONAL  CONSCIENCE. — THE  MACE- 
DONIAN CRY,  "COME  OVER  AND  HELP  Us." — MESSINA 
AND  ITS  HORRORS. — IN  THE  FAR  EAST. — FACING 
DEATH  TO  STAY  THE  PNEUMONIC  PLAGUE. — FAMINE 
PICTURES. — FLORENCE  NIGHTINGALE  AND  INDIA. — 
FOOD  FOR  MILLIONS  BY  DRAINAGE  AND  RECLAMA- 
TION.— THE  WORLD  THE  RED  CROSS  FIELD 192 


CONTENTS  13 

CHAPTER  PAGE 

XIV.  WHERE  THE  MONET  COMES  FROM. — THE  DIFFERENT 
FUNDS. — MEMBERSHIP  AND  ENDOWMENT. — RELIEF  AP- 
PEALS.— STORIES  OF  THE  CONTRIBUTIONS. — ONE  HUN- 
DRED THOUSAND  DOLLARS. — THE  BABIES'  PENNIES. — 
THE  JEWISH  WOMAN'S  GIFT. — THE  GRATEFUL  ITALIAN 
SAILOR. — FROM  AN  IRISH  REFUGEE. — THE  MINERS' 
GRATITUDE. — RECIPROCITY. — THE  IMPORTANCE  OF  A 
RESERVE  FUND 206 

XV.  A  RUSSIAN  FLORENCE  NIGHTINGALE. — DISASTER  RELIEF 
NOT  AN  AMERICAN  AMENDMENT. — FAMINE  IN  THE 
VOLGA  VALLEY. — WAR  IN  THE  FAR  EAST. — GIFT  or 
THE  EMPRESS  MARIE  FEODOROVNA. — JAPANESE  TRA- 
DITIONS AND  WAR  STORIES. — THE  EXPRESSION  OF 
PATRIOTISM. — THE  HOSPITAL  AT  TOKYO. — A  SHINTO 
CEREMONY. — THE  PEACE  ACTIVITIES. — THE  EMPRESS 
HARU  Ko  's  RED  CROSS  POEM 217 

XVI.  THE  SOCIETIES  OF  GREAT  BRITAIN  AND  HER  COLONIES. 
— THE  KNIGHTS  OF  ST.  JOHN  OF  JERUSALEM. — THE 
BOER  WAR. — AN  ACT  OF  PERFIDY. — FROM  BATTLE- 
FIELD TO  BASE  HOSPITAL. — LET  LOOSE  THE  DOGS  OF 
THE  RED  CROSS. — THE  FRENCH  BRANCHES. — ABUSE 
OF  THE  INSIGNIA. — REPORTED  ATROCITIES. — THE 
BELGIAN  RED  CROSS  BEHIND  THE  LINES. — IN  SERBIA 
AND  MONTENEGRO. — ITALY'S  PREPARATIONS 228 

XVII.  WITH  THE  BEST  ORGANIZED  RED  CROSS  IN  GERMANY. — 

PREPARATIONS  BY  PEACE  ACTIVITIES. — THE  EMPRESS 
AUGUSTA  FUND. — SANITARY  COLUMNS. — DEPOTS  OF 
SUPPLIES. — WOMEN'S  UNION  OF  THE  FATHERLAND. — 
THE  REICHSTAG  LOANS  ITS  BUILDING. — WAR  SERVICE. 
— SISTER  DORA'S  LETTER. — THE  SOCIETIES  OP  THE 
DUAL  EMPIRE. — THE  RED  CRESCENT  OF  TURKEY.  . .  243 

XVIII.  THE  INTERNATIONAL  RED  CROSS  COMMITTEE. — CON- 

FERENCES.— ABUSE  OF  INSIGNIA.  —  PRISONERS  OF 
WAR. — THE  WOUNDED. — THE  MISSING. — SWITZER- 
LAND'S SERVICE. — INSPECTION  OF  PRISON  CAMPS. — 
HOLLAND  AS  A  REFUGE. — WHAT  THE  RED  CROSS 
MEANS  TO  SOME  CHINESE  . .  .  254 


14  CONTENTS 

CHAPTER  PAGE 

XIX.  THE  EUBOPEAN  WAB  AND  THE  AMERICAN  RED  CROSS. — 
THE  GATHERING  OP  THE  STORM  CLOUDS. — THE  GER- 
MAN DECLARATION  AUGUST  FIRST. — OFFERS  OF  AID 
BY  THE  AMERICAN  RED  CROSS  ON  THE  FIFTH. — 
PREPARATIONS. — THE  WHITE  SHIP  OF  MERCY. — THE 
WEARERS  OF  THE  BRASSARD. — LIFE  ON  BOARD. — THE 
QUESTIONING  SEARCHLIGHT. — ARRIVAL  AT  FAL- 
MOUTH. — FUNDS  AND  SUPPLIES 267 

XX.  A  CASTLE  AT  PAIGNTON. — WAR  STORIES. — AN  ENGLISH 
CHRISTMAS. — THE  WINTER  PALACE. — FIVE  SOLDIERS 
OF  FRANCE. — BY  THE  SEA  IN  BELGIUM. — RESCUED 
FROM  FIRE. — ON  THE  POLISH  BORDER. — A  THEATRE 
OF  WAR. — IN  AUSTRIA-HUNGARY. — GRATITUDE 280 

XXI.  A  FINNISH  WELCOME. — THE  DOCTOR  BECOMES  A  GEN- 
ERAL.— IN  THE  HOSPITAL  AT  KIEF. — THE  EMPEROR. 
— A  YOUNG  CRIMEAN  VETERAN. — Two  CHRISTMAS 
DAYS. — A  ROYAL  VISIT. — ON  THE  SERBIAN  FRON- 
TIER.— BELGRADE  UNDER  FIRE. — WOUNDED  BY 
THOUSANDS. — A  PLACE  IN  HISTORY 292 

XXII.  AN  INVASION  OF  TYPHUS. — THE  ROCKEFELLER  FOUN- 
DATION OFFERS  HELP. — DR.  STRONG  AGAIN  TO  THE 
FRONT. — THE  AMERICAN  RED  CROSS  SANITARY  COM- 
MISSION.— DISINFECTING  A  NATION. — OVER  THE 
MOUNTAINS  TO  MONTENEGRO. — CONQUEST  OF  THE 
FEVER. — WITH  THE  TURKISH  ARMY. — A  DESERT 
HOSPITAL. — ON  CAMEL  AMBULANCE  TO  JERUSALEM.  .  304 

XXIII.  A  HISTORY  OF  NOBLE  DEEDS. — THE  DAILY  SERVICE. — 
OUTCLASSED  IN  MEMBERSHIP  AND  ENDOWMENT. — 
ALMONER  OF  THE  PEOPLE. — AUTHORITY  IN  WAR. — 
A  CASTLE  OF  DREAMS  BECOMES  ONE  OF  MARBLE. — 
VISIONS  OF  THE  FUTURE 316 

APPENDIX.    THE  REVISED  TREATY  OF  GENEVA    SIGNED 

JULY  6,  1906 322 


ILLUSTRATIONS 

PAGE 

A  Sunbeam  in  a  Dark  Corner Frontispiece 

One  of  San  Francisco's  Long  Bread  Lines 142 

Reproduction  of  the  Cherry  Mine  Disaster 146 

A  Modern  Pompeii  hi  the  Philippines 148 

Cyclone's  Wreckage  at  Omaha 152 

Fighting  the  Pneumonic  Plague  in  Manchuria 196 

Hunger  Camp  in  China 200 

Japanese  Red  Cross  Surgeons  and  Nurses  for  the  Allies 222 

Interior  of  a  British  Red  Cross  Hospital  Car 232 

A  Red  Cross  Dog  Finds  a  Wounded  Man 236 

Preparing  Food  for  the  German  Wounded  near  the  Front 244 

Turkish  Women  at  Work  for  the  Red  Crescent 252 

The  Good  Ship  "Red  Cross"  Setting  Sail  on  its  Voyage  of  Mercy  274 
A  Theatre  of  War  Under  the  American  Red  Cross 288 

French  and  German  Surgeons,   Friends  at  the  Side  of  the 
Wounded 290 

New  Red  Cross  Headquarters.     In  Memory  of  the  Heroic 
Women  of  the  Civil  War. .  .  320 


.  CHAPTER  I 

WAR  RELIEF  IN  EARLY  AGES.  BATTLES  OF  THE  HE- 
BREWS. OFFICIAL  EGYPTIAN  PHYSICIANS.  A  GREEK 
RELIEF  EXPEDITION.  ROMAN  MILITARY  HOSPITALS. 
THE  KNIGHTS  HOSPITALLERS  OF  THE  CRUSADES. 
LATER  EUROPEAN  CONFLICTS.  SUFFERING  IN  OUR 
REVOLUTIONARY  DAYS.  NAPOLEONIC  WARS.  NEW 
INFLUENCES.  FLORENCE  NIGHTINGALE  AT  SCUTARI. 

MAN  for  centuries  remained  in  too  primitive  a  state  to 
exercise  much  care  of  the  wounded  because  of  any  humane 
purpose,  and  to  depict  the  sufferings  of  the  sick  and 
wounded  during  military  conflicts  previous  to  the  Cri- 
mean War  would  be  but  to  repeat  again  and  again  tales 
of  misery  and  horror  almost  beyond  belief.  Even  under 
modern  conditions  the  words  of  such  an  experienced 
soldier  as  General  Sherman  are  not  too  strong  to  describe 
them — "War  is  hell!"  It  is  a  hell  that  only  one  who 
has  been  through  the  shock  and  brutality  of  battle,  who 
has  burrowed  for  months  in  the  trenches  with  the 
soldiers,  who  has  walked  the  interminable  wards  of  suf- 
fering in  the  great  military  hospitals,  who  has  seen 
the  pitiful  destruction  and  desolation  of  cities,  towns, 
villages  and  countryside,  and  who  has  witnessed  the 
wretchedness  of  shivering,  half-starved  prisoners,  can 
comprehend. 

No  history,  be  it  traditional  or  authentic,  antedates 
war.  There  is  many  a  war  story  in  the  Old  Testament, 
2  17 


18  UNDER  THE  RED  CROSS  FLAG 

but  when  the  ancient  Hebrew  laws  ordained  that  on  the 
fall  of  a  city,  though  the  women  and  children  became 
the  spoils  of  the  captors,  "thou  shalt  smite  every  male 
thereof  with  the  edge  of  thy  sword,"  and  even  more 
drastic  measures  for  the  "cities  of  these  people  which 
the  Lord,  thy  God,  doth  give  thee  for  an  inheritance, 
thou  shalt  save  alive  nothing  that  breatheth,"  the 
wounded  held  no  place  in  its  history.  The  lines  of  some 
old  ballad,  caught  in  a  phrase  of  Genesis,  breathe  the 
spirit  of  Cain  in  his  descendant,  "Hear  my  voice,  ye 
wives  of  Lamech,  for  I  have  slain  a  man  to  my  wound- 
ing, and  a  young  man  to  my  hurt."  Abraham  armed 
his  household  and  pursued  after  the  Elamite  invaders, 
smiting  them  by  night  as  they  fled  to  Horab,  and  bring- 
ing back  their  plunder,  his  brother  Lot,  the  women 
and  the  people,  but  not  a  word  of  any  wounded  is  there 
in  this  first  Biblical  story  of  battle.  In  those  old  tribal 
wars  it  was  victory  or  death,  and  not  a  note  of  tenderness 
or  mercy  sounds  in  Deborah's  exultant  song.  Later, 
as  the  kingdom  increased  in  size,  mighty  hand-to-hand 
contests  took  place.  Abijah  had  "an  army  of  valiant 
men  of  war,  even  four  hundred  thousand  men ; ' '  and  the 
army  of  Jeroboam  numbered  "eight  hundred  thousand 
men,  being  mighty  men  of  valor."  The  army  of  Judah 
prevailed  against  the  hosts  of  Israel,  and  according  to 
the  ancient  chronicler  "slew  them  with  great  slaughter 
so  that  there  fell  down  slain  of  Israel  five  hundred  thous- 
and men."  The  story  paints  the  picture  with  numbers 
of  Oriental  magnitude. 

It  is  so  old — the  dead  were  dead  so  long  ago — we  do 
not  stop  to  question  of  the  wounded.  But  compare  the 
humanity  of  the  battlefield  of  three  thousand  years  ago 
with  that  of  this  mighty  conflict  of  the  twentieth  century. 
Appalled  as  we  may  be  by  man's  seeming  retrogression, 
his  laggard  steps  have  yet  moved  onward  in  the  march 
of  moral  evolution. 

The  civilization  of  Egypt  was  in  certain  respects  more 


A  GREEK  RELIEF  EXPEDITION  19 

advanced  than  that  of  the  Hebrews,  and  medicine  was  no 
mean  science  in  the  land  of  the  Pharaohs.  Physicians 
in  the  earlier  history  of  that  country  were  employed  by 
the  State,  paid  from  the  public  treasury,  and  the  soldier 
being  held  in  high  regard,  received  their  care  without 
charge. 

There  were  men  skilful  in  the  art  of  removing  arrows 
and  of  giving  first  aid  during  the  Trojan  War,  and 
de  Quincey  says  of  Homer  that  his  knowledge  of  wounds 
would  have  fitted  him  for  the  post  of  house  surgeon  in  a 
modern  hospital.  The  laws  of  Lycurgus  ordered  sur- 
geons to  the  rear  of  the  right  wing  during  battles,  showing 
that  they  held  a  definite  position  in  the  army  at  that 
time.  Xenophon  reports  that  Cyrus  commanded  his  sur- 
geons to  care  also  for  the  enemy 's  wounded,  though  some 
modern  critics  are  skeptical  of  this  anticipation  of  the 
Red  Cross  spirit  in  the  sixth  century  before  Christ. 

The  earliest  account  of  medicine  to  be  found  in  au- 
thentic history  is  connected  with  the  siege  of  Chyrrha,  on 
the  Gulf  of  Corinth,  near  Delhi.  A  pestilence  broke  out 
among  the  besiegers,  and  Nebrus,  a  celebrated  physician, 
the  great-great-grandfather  of  Hippocrates,  was  hastily 
summoned.  He  came,  bringing  with  him  his  son  Chrysus, 
also  a  famous  physician,  and  a  vessel  laden  with  medical 
and  other  supplies  provided  at  his  own  expense.  By  his 
skill  and  devotion  the  dread  disease  was  arrested.  Even 
Alexander  the  Great,  who  took  a  lively  interest  in  his 
soldiers'  welfare,  employed  physicians  only  for  his  own 
and  his  friends'  benefit,  leaving  the  common  soldier  to 
play  the  part  of  surgeon  for  himself,  whereby  he  gained 
not  a  little  rude  skill.  Before  the  invention  of  gunpowder 
wounds  were  caused  by  swords,  spears  and  other  sharp 
weapons,  so  that  they  were  in  the  nature  of  cuts  or  bruises, 
and  were  not  therefore  complicated  to  treat. 

In  the  days  of  the  Roman  Empire  the  care  of  the  sick 
or  wounded  man  depended  upon  his  worth  as  a  slave  to 
his  wealthy  owner  or  his  value  as  a  gladiator  to  a  public 


20  UNDER  THE  RED  CROSS  FLAG 

that  delighted  in  barbaric  sports.  The  life  of  the  soldier 
was  an  asset  to  the  State,  and  seriously  wounded  men 
were  placed  in  the  care  of  families  or  of  women  of  noble 
rank.  The  Roman  military  doctors  were  in  special  favor 
with  such  generals  as  Julius  Caesar  and  Germanicus, 
while  Trajan  and  Alexander  Severus  visited  personally 
their  wounded  soldiers,  just  as  to-day  royalty  visits  the 
military  hospitals.  In  fact,  the  military  hospital  itself 
dates  from  the  time  of  the  Roman  Empire.  One  of  these 
was  built  at  the  right  of  the  Praetorian  Gate,  and  on  the 
left  at  a  sufficient  distance  to  prevent  the  sick  from  being 
disturbed  by  the  noise,  were  the  veterinarian  hospital 
and  the  blacksmith  shop.  Such  a  military  hospital  was 
sixty  feet  square  and  contained  room  for  200  men.  Crude 
as  all  medical  knowledge  then  was,  it  commanded  respect, 
the  doctors  held  military  rank  and  received  double  pay ; 
men  in  charge  of  bandages  and  instruments  were  their 
assistants,  while  others  occupied  positions  somewhat  corre- 
sponding to  our  hospital  orderlies. 

With  the  degeneracy  of  Rome  the  army  medical  ser- 
vice also  degenerated,  and  quacks  like  Indian  medicine 
men  invaded  the  camps.  In  the  old-time  battles  no 
quarter  was  given  or  taken,  and  this,  together  with  the 
fact  that  the  life  of  a  captive  was  far  worse  than  death 
itself,  explains  results  where  the  dead  so  far  exceeded  the 
wounded  in  number. 

The  consideration  for  the  soldier  was  not  confined  to 
the  Romans,  for  Tacitus  gives  accounts  of  the  wives  of 
the  Germans  dressing  the  warriors '  wounds.  A  touch  of 
the  Red  Cross  spirit  manifested  itself  after  a  battle  a 
thousand  years  ago,  when  Haldora  of  Iceland  called  to 
the  women  of  her  household,  "Let  us  go  and  dress  the 
wounds  of  the  warriors,  be  they  friends  or  foes."  In 
the  first  century  of  the  Christian  Era  hostelries  for  pil- 
grims sprang  up  along  the  routes  of  travel.  In  these 
both  poor  and  sick  found  refuge.  It  was  not,  however, 
until  about  the  tenth  century  that  hospitals  for  the  sick 


KNIGHTS  HOSPITALLERS  OF  CRUSADES     21 

became  separate  institutions,  and  even  then  many  of 
them  were  lazarettos,  or  leper  hospitals.  It  has  been 
estimated  that  in  the  thirteenth  century  there  were  thir- 
teen thousand  lazarettos  throughout  Christendom,  but 
in  the  fifteenth  century  leprosy  had  so  greatly  decreased 
that  these  were  generally  turned  into  pest-houses  or 
regular  hospitals. 

It  is  with  special  interest  that  the  Bed  Cross  turns 
back  the  pages  of  history  to  the  famous  military  nursing 
orders.  They,  like  the  Red  Cross,  sprang  from  the  battle- 
field, for  the  Crusades  gave  them  birth.  At  Jerusalem 
in  the  hospital  of  St.  John,  the  Almoner,  we  find  the 
cradle  of  the  famous  order  of  the  Knights  Hospitallers  of 
St.  John  of  Jerusalem,  of  Rhodes  and  of  Malta,  orders 
that  still  exist.  Fortunate  were  the  sick  and  wounded  who 
in  those  early  days  fell  into  the  hands  of  these  good 
Knights.  In  1187  at  the  siege  of  Acre  the  German  sol- 
diers made  a  temporary  hospital  of  the  sails  of  their  ships 
in  order  to  care  for  the  sufferers  from  disease  or  wounds. 

On  the  side  of  the  Moslems,  Saladin  had  his  own  medi- 
cal staff,  including  apothecaries.  With  true  chivalry  he 
permitted  the  Knights  Hospitallers  to  minister  to  their 
own  wounded  within  the  walls  of  Jerusalem  without  inter- 
ference. 

A  woman's  branch  of  the  Hospitallers  founded  the 
Hospital  of  St.  Mary  Magdalene  in  the  same  city,  at  the 
head  of  which  was  Agnes,  a  noble  Roman  matron.  These 
devoted  men  and  women  we  may  claim  as  ancestors  of 
the  Red  Cross  nurse.  On  the  breasts  of  their  armor  or 
on  the  shoulder  of  the  long  mantle  appeared  the  cross, 
sometimes  of  white,  sometimes  of  gold,  sometimes  of  red, 
sometimes  of  one  form  and  sometimes  of  another — but 
always  the  cross.  These  old  Knights  Hospitallers,  though 
fighting  for  the  Holy  Land,  never  failed  to  give  devoted 
care  to  all  the  sick  and  wounded,  whether  Christians  or 
Moslems,  thereby  manifesting  what  to-day  is  the  pervad- 
ing spirit  of  the  Red  Cross — Neutrality,  Humanity.  The 


22  UNDER  THE  RED  CROSS  FLAG 

quaint  old  seal  of  the  Order  shows  a  person  stretched  out 
on  a  bed  with  a  cross  at  the  head  and  foot. 

Driven  out  of  the  Holy  Land,  Rhodes  became  for  a 
time  the  home  of  the  Hospitallers,  who  continued  to  be 
subject  to  the  Moslem  attacks.  In  view  of  the  present  use 
of  dogs  for  the  finding  of  the  wounded,  it  is  interesting 
to  note  that  the  Knights  kept  a  fine  breed  of  dogs  in  the 
castle  to  aid  in  the  rescue  of  Christians  and  give  notice 
of  the  approach  of  the  enemy.  An  old  picture  shows 
the  kindly  Hospitallers  ministering  to  the  victims  of  an 
earthquake  in  1480. 

After  the  capture  of  Rhodes,  the  Order  established 
itself  at  Malta.  The  account  of  the  aid  given  by  the 
Knights  after  a  frightful  earthquake  in  Sicily  and  Cala- 
bria in  1783,  reads  like  a  report  of  similar  work  to-day. 
The  galleys  were  laid  up  for  the  winter  when  the  news  of 
the  great  calamity  reached  Malta.  So  intense  was  the 
desire  to  send  immediate  assistance  that  in  a  night  they 
were  made  ready  and  gotten  off,  filled  with  a  generous 
cargo  of  supplies.  One-half  of  these  were  given  to  Reg- 
gio,  but  at  Messina  the  commandant,  unwilling  to  be 
obligated  to  the  Knights,  declined  aid,  saying  that  the 
King  had  provided  all  that  was  necessary.  The  ship, 
therefore,  returned  to  Reggio,  where  the  stores  intended 
for  Messina  were  landed. 

The  hospital  of  the  Order  at  Valletta  was  close  to  the 
harbor  so  that  the  sick  and  wounded  could  be  easily  re- 
moved from  the  ships.  The  building  still  exists,  with  its 
great  wards,  503  feet  long  and  30  feet  high.  The  walls 
were  covered  with  hangings  and  pictures,  the  beds  were 
canopied,  the  utensils  were  of  silver;  and  it  is  reported 
with  some  pride  that  a  clean  supply  of  linen  was  provided 
every  fortnight.  Old  pictures  represent  the  wounded 
Knights  in  large,  luxurious  apartments,  their  servants 
standing  by  the  bedside.  Oriental  rugs  lie  upon  the  floor, 
and  the  cross  of  the  Order  is  embroidered  upon  the  bed 
covering.  At  the  head  of  the  beds  are  boards  on  which 


LATER  EUROPEAN  CONFLICTS  23 

were  written  the  doctor's  orders.  Special  wards  were 
devoted  to  incurable  or  repulsive  diseases,  and  the  seri- 
ously wounded  were  placed  in  upper  rooms  whose  win- 
dows were  tightly  closed,  as  sea  air  was  considered 
dangerous,  producing  a  result  that  required  strong  per- 
fumes to  overcome  some  of  its  many  evils.  It  has  been 
said  of  these  famous  Knights,  "Not  their  riches  nor  their 
power  nor  their  military  prowess  have  given  them  their 
distinguished  place  in  history,  but  their  deeds  of  mercy  to 
the  sick  and  wounded. ' ' 

Save  for  the  volunteer  aid  of  these  nursing  orders, 
there  seems  to  have  been  no  attempt  made  to  provide  any 
nursing  care  in  time  of  war.  If  the  battlefield  lay  near 
some  convent  or  town,  the  religious  sisterhoods  and  other 
kindly  women  of  the  neighborhood  gave  what  help  they 
could  to  the  wounded  within  their  reach.  During  the 
Thirty  Years'  War  and  the  "War  of  the  Fronde  the  Sisters 
of  Charity,  founded  by  St.  Vincent  de  Paul,  nursed  the 
sufferers  and  also  the  victims  of  famine  and  pestilence, 
those  two  grim  handmaidens  of  the  God  of  War. 

When  the  despots  of  Italy  were  mutilating  their 
wretched  captives  and  throwing  them  out  in  a  helpless 
condition  to  the  mercy  of  the  elements,  or  brutally  butch- 
ering men,  women  and  children,  parading  through  the 
streets  asses  ladened  with  the  limbs  of  their  victims,  or 
torturing  most  horribly  political  prisoners,  hunting  them 
with  boar  hounds  and  watching  with  fiendish  pleasure  the 
dogs  tear  to  pieces  these  luckless  persons,  consideration  for 
the  wounded  must  have  been  a  virtue  quite  undreamed  of. 
Nor  had  they  to  dread  only  the  cruelty  of  man,  for  the 
Abbe  Suger,  historian  of  Louis  the  Fat,  in  the  eleventh 
and  twelfth  centuries,  records  that  "as  many  as  possible 
of  the  wounded  were  carried  off  in  litters,  and  those  who 
could  not  be  removed  were  left  as  a  prey  to  the  wolves. ' ' 

Here  and  there  through  history  are  meagre  stories  of 
the  work  of  patriotic  and  humane  women  for  the  sick 
and  wounded  of  military  conflicts.  Queen  Isabella  of 


24  UNDER  THE  RED  CROSS  FLAG 

Spain  in  the  fifteenth  century  during  the  siege  of  Gra- 
nada had  six  great  tents  with  beds  set  up,  and  called 
upon  surgeons  and  physicians  to  attend  the  sick  and 
wounded.  The  soldiers  of  Aragon  and  Castile  gave  to 
the  establishment — perhaps  the  first  of  the  kind — the 
name  " Queen's  Hospital."  When  the  strict  Castilian 
courtiers  questioned  the  propriety  of  her  visiting  the 
hospital  in  person  she  is  said  to  have  replied:  "Let  me  go 
to  them,  for  they  have  no  mothers  here,  and  it  will  soothe 
them  in  their  pain  and  weakness  to  find  that  they  are 
not  uncared  for." 

Arras,  around  which  lately  there  has  been  so  much 
fighting,  was  the  scene  of  Jeanne  Biscot's  labors  for  the 
sick  and  wounded  in  the  siege  of  that  city  in  1654.  She 
and  two  of  her  friends  obtained  the  loan  of  a  large  build- 
ing where  they  established  a  hospital  and  continued  their 
services  throughout  an  epidemic.  During  the  siege  of 
Quebec  the  Sisters  nursed  both  the  French  and  English. 
They  busied  themselves  knitting  long  stockings  for  the 
bare  knees  of  the  Highlanders,  which  Parkman  says  the 
men  accepted  with  gratitude,  though  at  a  loss  to  know 
whether  charity  or  modesty  prompted  the  act. 

It  is  interesting  to  note  that  progress  was  slowly  being 
made  toward  more  humanitarian  arrangements.  In  the 
eighteenth  century  we  find  several  instances  of  agree- 
ments between  commanding  officers  of  the  armies.  The 
generals  at  the  head  of  the  French  and  Austrian  forces 
accepted  an  arrangement  suggested  by  Percy,  the  French 
surgeon-general,  that  the  hospitals  should  be  considered 
as  sacred  asylums,  and  that  their  location  be  plainly  indi- 
cated so  that  the  soldiers  could  readily  recognize  them. 
Each  army  was  charged  with  the  care  of  these  hospitals, 
even  after  losing  the  country  in  which  they  were  situated. 
The  armies  also  were  to  favor  and  protect  mutually  the 
service  of  the  hospitals  in  the  countries  that  they  occu- 
pied. The  soldiers  when  recovered  were  to  be  sent  back 
to  their  respective  armies,  with  escort  and  safeguard. 


This  same  Percy  undertook  to  form  a  permanent 
relief  corps  in  the  French  army.  He  says:  "With  the 
desires  springing  up  continually  from  the  disgusting 
assemblage  of  famished  and  vagabond  nurses;  disheart- 
ened by  the  neglect  of  my  request ;  expressly  grieved  at 
seeing  so  great  a  number  of  soldiers  die  upon  the  fields 
of  battle,  whose  lives  might  have  been  saved  and  whose 
limbs  might  have  been  preserved  by  the  aid  of  some  con- 
venient and  well-organized  method  of  transportation; 
and  seeing  also  that  it  was  necessary  to  have,  as  near  as 
possible  to  the  lines  of  battle,  men  expressly  designated 
for  the  relief  of  the  wounded,  rather  than  leave  this  care 
to  the  soldiers  (who  too  often  seized  such  an  opportunity 
to  desert  the  ranks) ,  I  took  it  upon  me  to  organize  a  regu- 
lar corps  of  soldier  nurses  to  whom  I  gave  the  name  of 
'the  corps  of  stretcher  bearers.'  I  chose  one  hundred 
soldiers  from  among  the  most  courageous,  strongest  and 
most  skillful.  I  had  them  uniformed,  and  as  soon  as 
they  were  completely  equipped  I  put  them  to  work.  Very- 
soon  the  condition  of  the  sick  and  wounded,  before  so 
neglected  and  abandoned,  was  entirely  changed. ' ' 

Unfortunately  for  the  famous  surgeon 's  humanitarian 
purposes  the  detachment  which  he  had  clothed  and 
equipped,  without  any  expense  to  the  government,  and 
sent  to  Paris  as  an  example,  was  ordered  to  return  to 
Madrid  and  disbanded.  He  was  blamed  instead  of 
thanked;  but  it  had  already  proved  its  value,  and  was 
eventually  adopted  in  1813. 

During  our  own  Revolutionary  War  our  care  of  the 
sick  and  wounded  was  no  more  advanced  than  that  in 
Europe,  and  in  addition  to  this  we  are  familiar  with  the 
fearful  deprivations  and  sufferings  undergone  by  our 
forces.  Hunger  and  nakedness  were  followed  by  disease. 
The  entire  army  during  the  war  numbered  in  all  on  our 
side  231,791  men.  Before  the  war  was  over  many  a  time 
the  men  were  without  food  to  eat,  their  clothing  hung  in 
tatters;  without  shoes  they  made  long  marches,  leaving 


26  UNDER  THE  RED  CROSS  FLAG 

on  the  ground  the  tracks  of  their  bleeding,  naked  feet. 
The  officers  fared  little  better  than  the  men,  and  there  is 
a  story  of  a  dinner  that  no  one  was  allowed  to  attend  who 
confessed  to  the  ownership  of  a  whole  pair  of  trousers. 
A  condition  of  famine  actually  existed  at  Valley  Forge, 
and  the  men  were  so  enfeebled  that  it  was  difficult  to  find 
enough  to  carry  on  the  regular  camp  duties.  When  this 
was  the  condition  prevalent  in  the  army  it  can  be  easily 
comprehended  what  little  attention  was  paid  to  the  sick 
and  the  wounded.  It  is  true  that  this  distress  appealed 
to  the  women  of  the  country  then  as  it  does  at  all  times  of 
war.  Associations  were  formed  for  the  aid  of  the  soldiers. 
Great  quantities  of  shirts  were  made,  for  which  the 
women  bought  the  materials  that  they  themselves  cut  out 
and  sewed.  Twenty-two  hundred  of  these  the  Marquis 
de  Chastellux  saw  in  their  rooms  in  Philadelphia,  and  on 
each  shirt  was  the  name  of  the  lady  who  made  it. 

Lafayette,  attending  a  ball  in  Baltimore,  expressed  his 
inability  to  enter  into  the  gayety  of  the  occasion  because 
of  his  consciousness  of  the  suffering  of  the  soldiers. 
Aroused  by  this  comment  of  the  great  French  general,  the 
women  of  that  city  flew  to  work,  and  like  those  of  Phila- 
delphia made  a  large  amount  of  clothing  for  the  soldiers 
out  of  materials  donated  by  the  men. 

The  women  of  New  York  had  their  own  association 
formed  particularly  for  the  purpose  of  knitting  socks  and 
preparing  other  comforts  for  the  soldiers. 

All  these  efforts  were  directed  for  the  aid  of  the 
soldiers  in  general,  and  not  in  any  particular  way  for 
the  unfortunate  sick  and  wounded,  whose  sufferings  in 
the  primitive  hospitals,  with  inadequate  supplies  and 
attendants,  were  pitiful. 

How  little,  though,  could  all  such  occasional,  unsys- 
tematized  effort  mitigate  the  sufferings  of  the  thousands 
and  tens  of  thousands  of  the  victims  of  war !  Seventeen 
days  after  the  battle  of  Leipzig  men  were  f  oun'd  who  had 
died  not  from  their  wounds  but  from  exposure.  It  was 


NEW  INFLUENCES  27 

the  Napoleonic  Wars,  however,  which  first  aroused  the 
women  of  Germany  to  the  realization  of  the  need  of 
organization  for  relief  purposes.  A  number  of  them 
banded  together  for  the  care  of  the  wounded.  Napoleon 
himself  recalled  many  of  the  sisters  of  St.  Vincent  de 
Paul  who  had  fled  to  England  during  the  Revolution,  as 
he  realized  the  value  of  their  services  to  his  soldiers,  and 
decorated  one  of  their  number  with  the  Legion  of  Honor. 

But  new  and  forceful  factors  were  soon  to  lead  to  a 
remarkable  change  in  conditions.  These  factors  were  the 
telegraph  and  the  press.  The  majority  of  those  who 
witnessed  the  horrors  of  the  battlefield  were  they  who  had 
taken  part  in  the  struggle  and  accepted  conditions  as  the 
grim  and  terrible  fate  of  war.  Not  so,  though,  was  it 
with  those  at  home,  to  whom  the  telegraph,  through  the 
daily  press,  brought  the  story  of  the  misery,  the  agony  of 
the  thousands  of  wounded,  for  they  saw  among  the  suffer- 
ing men  some  husband,  father,  brother,  son  or  other  dear 
one  of  their  own. 

Sixty  years  ago  the  cry,  coming  from  a  war  corre- 
spondent in  the  Crimea,  rang  out  one  morning  in  the 
London  Times,  "  Are  there  no  devoted  women  among  us 
able  and  willing  to  go  forth  to  minister  to  the  sick  and 
suffering  soldiers  of  the  East  in  the  hospitals  of  Scutari  ? 
Are  none  of  the  daughters  of  England  at  this  extreme  hour 
of  need  ready  for  such  a  work  of  mercy  ? ' '  What  had  hap- 
pened ?  Great  Britain  and  France  had  united  in  1854  to 
aid  Turkey  against  Russia.  The  forty  years  which  had 
passed  since  Waterloo  had  deadened  the  memories  of  the 
horrors  of  war.  So  proudly  the  English  fleet  with  thou- 
sands of  brave  soldiers  had  set  sail.  The  nation  acclaimed 
with  joy  the  victory  of  Alma,  but  upon  the  heels  of 
victory  came  the  reports  of  the  uncared-for  sick  and 
wounded  men.  The  whole  country  was  aroused.  Mr. 
Sidney  Herbert,  then  at  the  head  of  the  War  Department, 
wrote  to  the  one  woman  in  England  whom  he  believed 
competent  to  relieve  the  situation ;  and  while  the  post  was 


28  UNDER  THE  RED  CROSS  FLAG 

carrying  his  letter  to  her,  one  from  her  to  him  offering 
her  services  crossed  it  on  the  way.  When  this,  her 
country's  call  for  help,  arose,  Florence  Nightingale  re- 
sponded before  it  was  received  in  official  form.  Tho 
supreme  appeal  of  her  life  came  to  her,  and  she  went  to 
the  Crimea.  With  her  went  thirty-eight  nurses,  called 
by  Punch  "The  Nightingales,"  but  by  Kinglake  "The 
Angel  Band. ' '  French  Sisters  were  caring  for  their  own 
soldiers,  and  one  of  these,  Sister  Marie  Theresa,  was 
wounded  at  the  battle  of  Balaklava,  later  at  Magenta ;  and 
again  at  Worth,  when  a  grenade  fell  into  the  hospital,  she, 
without  a  moment's  hesitation,  picked  it  up,  carry- 
ing it  a  long  distance,  until  it  exploded,  and  injured  her 
seriously.  Three  hundred  of  the  Eussian  Sisters  of  the 
Exaltation  of  the  Cross,  founded  by  the  Grand  Duchess 
Helene  Pawlowna,  and  other  devoted  women  went  to 
Sebastopol.  Nor  were  these  women  of  the  Slavic  race 
lacking  in  courage,  for  many  of  them  ventured  forth 
upon  the  battlefield  under  fire  to  carry  in  the  wounded. 

Such  are  the  exigencies  of  war,  which  at  the  best  can 
hardly  be  deemed  a  humane  institution,  that  considera- 
tion for  the  wounded  always  becomes  a  secondary  matter. 
Train  loads  of  these  unfortunate  men  are  side-tracked  for 
hours  that  reinforcements  and  ammunition  may  be  rushed 
to  the  fighting  line  or  long  trains  of  the  commissary  de- 
partment with  necessary  supplies  are  moved  forward. 
Suddenly  improvised,  slow  and  poorly  arranged  hospital 
ships  are  utilized  for  the  evacuation  of  the  wounded  at 
sea.  At  the  time  of  the  Crimean  War  it  took  generally 
eight  days  for  the  hospital  ships  to  make  the  trip  from 
Balaklava  to  Scutari,  and  during  the  first  four  months 
of  the  war  out  of  every  thousand  that  embarked  seventy- 
four  died  on  the  voyage. 

The  little  group  of  English  nurses  reached  Scutari 
November  4,  1854,  just  before  the  battle  of  Inkerman. 
In  the  vast  barrack  hospital  lay  four  miles  of  human 
misery  beyond  all  words  to  describe.  Into  these  crowded 


FLORENCE  NIGHTINGALE  AT  SCUTARI    29 

wards  and  amidst  these  appalling  conditions  poured  the 
human  debris  from  the  field  of  Inkerman.  The  buildings 
were  little  better  than  pest-houses.  Open  sewers  under- 
neath breathed  their  poisonous  odors  up  and  through  the 
corridors  and  wards.  Reporting  this  condition,  Miss 
Nightingale  later  told  the  Royal  Commission  of  1857: 
"It  is  impossible  to  describe  the  state  of  the  atmosphere 
of  the  Barrack  Hospital  at  night.  I  have  been  well 
acquainted  with  the  dwellings  of  the  worst  parts  of  most 
of  the  great  cities  of  Europe,  but  have  never  been  in  any 
atmosphere  I  could  compare  with  it."  Most  of  the 
usual  and  necessary  hospital  supplies  were  unprovided, 
while  comforts  were  entirely  lacking.  The  sheets  were  of 
coarse  and  heavy  canvas,  so  that  the  wounded  and  emaci- 
ated men  begged  to  be  left  in  their  softer  blankets.  Surgi- 
cal instruments  and  medical  supplies  were  inadequate. 
Under  these  horrible  conditions  it  is  not  surprising  that 
dysentery,  cholera  and  typhus  likewise  claimed  many 
victims.  In  February,  1855,  so  desperate  was  the  situa- 
tion that  forty-five  per  cent,  of  the  cases  in  the  hospital 
died. 

The  human  problems  connected  with  the  medical  per- 
sonnel also  presented  their  difficulties  for  solution.  Of 
the  surgeons  Miss  Nightingale  wrote  to  a  friend,  "Two 
of  them  are  brutes,  and  four  are  angels,  for  this  is  a 
work  that  makes  either  angels  or  devils  .of  men  and 
women,  too." 

If  among  the  nurses  few  Were  found  belonging  to  the 
latter  category,  there  were  some  whose  limitations  in  the 
midst  of  such  suffering  and  misery  were  pitiful,  if  occa- 
sionally amusing.  Miss  Nightingale  quotes  a  speech  of  one 
of  them:  "I  came  out,  Ma'am,  prepared  to  submit  to 
anything ;  to  be  put  upon  in  every  way,  but  there  are  some 
things,  Ma'am,  one  can't  submit  to.  There's  the  caps, 
Ma'am,  that  suit  one  face,  and  some  that  suit  another; 
and  if  I'd  known,  Ma'am,  about  the  caps,  great  as  was 


30  UNDER  THE  RED  CROSS  FLAG 

my  desire  to  come  out  and  nurse  at  Scutari,  I  would  not 
have  come,  Ma'am." 

Nurses  at  that  time  were  not  only  without  the  training 
now  required  of  the  regular  profession,  but,  they  had 
never  been  subject  to  the  excellent  discipline  of  the 
training  school — a  discipline  particularly  suitable  to 
military  conditions.  Then,  as  to-day,  the  war  office  was 
overwhelmed  with  offers  to  go  out  to  nurse  from  women 
influenced  by  sentiment  and  emotion  but  totally  unfitted 
for  the  hard  and  serious  work.  A  certain  number  of 
these  added  to  Miss  Nightingale's  difficulties.  To  go  out 
to  nurse  the  sick  and  to  be  told  that  the  wash-tub  re- 
quired her  services  was  not  conducive  to  increasing  the 
enthusiasm  of  a  would-be  nurse.  There  were  laundries, 
diet  kitchens  and  storerooms  to  be  established  which  were 
quite  as  important  for  the  relief  of  the  patients  as  any  of 
the  actual  nursing  work.  In  the  midst  of  all  this  labor  of 
organization,  with  over  two  thousand  three  hundred  sick 
and  wounded  filling  the  hospitals,  word  would  come  to 
prepare  for  several  hundred  more.  Mattresses  would  be 
hastily  stuffed  with  straw  and  placed  on  the  floor  to  re- 
ceive this  new  contingent  of  exhausted  and  often  dying 
men.  Days  of  incessant  activity  followed:  hours  spent 
kneeling  by  the  suffering  soldiers  to  dress  their  ghastly 
wounds ;  and  then  in  the  quiet  of  the  night  would  come 
the  lonely  vigil  beside  some  dying  man.  Operations  were 
sometimes  performed  without  anaesthetics  in  the  open 
wards,  and  until  Miss  Nightingale  devised  a  screen  a 
wounded  man  awaiting  his  turn  might  witness  his  neigh- 
bor die  under  the  surgeon's  knife.  Fever,  erysipelas  and 
gangrene,  especially  among  the  Russian  soldiers,  added 
their  miseries  to  the  situation.  In  this  terrible  and 
chaotic  crisis  Florence  Nightingale  stands  out  above  all 
others  because  of  her  powers  of  organization,  her  ability 
to  bring  order  out  of  chaos.  Her  sympathetic  compre- 
hension and  her  tact  commanded  respect  from  officials 


FLORENCE  NIGHTINGALE  AT  SCUTARI   31 

who  had  seriously  doubted  the  advisability  of  the  presence 
of  women  in  military  hospitals. 

All  the  immense  labor  of  organization  never  blotted 
out  of  Miss  Nightingale's  nature  the  tender,  devoted 
nurse.  From  sundown  until  daybreak  it  had  been  the 
custom  to  leave  the  wretched  victims  in  darkness  and 
alone.  This  changed  with  her  coming,  and  when  at  night 
she  passed  through  the  long  wards,  her  little  lamp  in  her 
hand,  to  minister  to  the  suffering  men  they  kissed  her 
shadow  as  it  fell  across  their  pillows.  She  had  lit  the 
light  of  a  broader  humanity.  Longfellow  in  his  poem  of 
"St.  Filomena"  says  of  her: 

On  England's  annals,  through  the  long 
Hereafter  of  her  speech  and  song, 

That  light  its  rays  shall  cast 

From  portals  of  the  past. 

A  Lady  with  a  Lamp  shall  stand 
In  the  great  history  of  the  land, 

A  noble  type  of  good, 

Heroic  womanhood. 


CHAPTER  II 

HENRI  DUNANT.  THE  BATTLE  OF  SOLFERINO.  MEAS- 
URES FOR  TURNING  THEORY  INTO  PRACTICE.  THE 
TREATY  OF  GENEVA.  OUR  SHARE  IN  ITS  ADOPTION. 

GREAT  as  were  Florence  Nightingale's  individual 
labors  to  alleviate  suffering,  they  accomplished  still  more 
valuable  work  for  humanity  at  large  by  their  inspira- 
tions to  others.  When  she  was  eight  years  old  there  was 
born  at  Geneva,  in  1828,  a  boy  who  was  destined  to  be 
the  initiator  of  a  remarkable  extension  of  her  humane 
efforts  in  the  hospitals  at  Scutari.  Henri  Dunant  was 
of  French-Swiss  descent.  His  father,  Jean  Jacque  Du- 
nant, of  an  old  Geneva  family,  was  a  member  of  the 
Council  of  that  city.  The  ancestors  of  his  mother,  An- 
toinette Coladon,  were  driven  to  Switzerland  in  1560 
from  Bourges  by  the  religious  disturbances  which 
brought  so  much  strife  and  bloodshed  to  France.  The 
boy,  when  still  a  child,  interested  himself  in  works  of 
benevolence.  As  he  grew  to  manhood  the  story  of  the 
Quakeress  Elizabeth  Fry's  labors  for  prison  reform 
aroused  his  enthusiasm.  Harriet  Beecher  Stowe's  "Un- 
cle Tom's  Cabin"  stirred  his  soul,  and  Florence  Nightin- 
gale's work  in  the  Crimea  awoke  within  him  a  strong 
responsive  chord  of  sympathy.  He  had  traveled  much 
and  was  always  an  ardent  advocate  of  peace  and  uni- 
versal brotherhood. 

In  1859,  when  Dunant  was  thirty-one  years  old,  the 
forces  of  Sardinia  under  Victor  Emanuel,  with  the  allied 
army  of  France  under  Napoleon  III,  sought  to  throw  off 
of  northern  Italy  the  yoke  of  Austrian  supremacy.  The 
young  Swiss,  traveling  as  a  tourist,  but  doubtless  burn- 
ing with  zeal  to  aid  the  many  suffering  wounded,  wit- 
nessed one  of  the  great  and  terrible  battles  of  history. 
Forty  thousand  killed  and  wounded  was  the  deadly  har- 
32 


THE  BATTLE  OF  SOLFERINO  33 

vest  of  Solferino.  No  treaty  then  protected  the  medi- 
cal service  of  the  armies.  That  of  the  defeated  Aus- 
trians  retreated  with  their  forces,  while  with  the  pur- 
suing allies  went  nearly  all  of  the  French  and  Italian 
surgeons,  leaving  almost  deserted  of  medical  care  the 
victims  of  this  appalling  slaughter. 

Dunant,  in  his  ' '  Souvenir  de  Solferino, ' '  pictures  the 
battle,  the  awful  scenes  of  suffering  and  of  death  as 
only  a  man  can  do  who  has  lived  through  the  horrors  of 
such  an  experience. 

The  battle  of  Magenta,  on  June  4th,  opened  Milan  to 
the  French  army.  Back  the  Austrians  retreated,  fol- 
lowed by  the  French  and  Sardinian  armies.  ' '  The  morn- 
ing  of  June  24th  dawns  with  the  sound  of  battle.  Three 
hundred  thousand  men  are  face  to  face.  Fifteen  miles 
long  stretches  the  battle  line.  The  bugle  notes  and  the 
roll  of  the  drum  resound  the  charge.  At  three  in  the 
morning  the  allied  army  corps  are  marching  on  Sol- 
ferino and  Cavriana.  By  six  o'clock  the  fire  becomes 
more  furious.  In  the  warm  June  morning  the  Austrian 
troops  in  compact  masses  march  along  the  open  roads 
under  the  fluttering  banners  of  black  and  red.  The  bril- 
liant Italian  sun  glitters  on  the  polished  armor  of  the 
French  dragoons  and  cuirassiers.  In  the  burning  mid- 
day heat  still  more  furiously  the  battle  rages.  Column 
after  column  fling  themselves  one  upon  the  other.  Piled 
high  lie  the  dead  on  hills  and  in  ravines.  Austrians  and 
Allies  trample  the  wounded  under  foot,  kill  each  other 
and  fall  upon  their  bleeding  comrades.  Drunk  or  mad 
with  blood,  the  butchery  goes  on.  Over  the  field  of 
slaughter  dashes  the  wild  cavalry  charge,  the  horses' 
iron  hoofs  beating  down  the  wretched  men.  Back  and 
forth  the  conflict  rages.  Villages  are  taken  and  retaken ; 
every  house,  every  farm,  the  scene  of  battle  and  of  strug- 
gle. Back  of  dark,  threatening  clouds,  the  sun  is  lost. 
A  tempest  of  wind  and  lightning  arises ;  icy  rain  sweeps 
across  the  field.  As  the  shadows  of  the  night  begin  to 
3 


34  UNDER  THE  RED  CROSS  FLAG 

fall  the  tumult  of  the  battle  dies  away.  Exhausted  men 
sink  down  to  sleep  where  they  stand  or  search  for  some 
missing  comrade.  The  silent  darkness  is  broken  by  the 
groans  and  cries  for  help  of  the  wounded  men." 

Hastily  improvised  hospitals  were  established  in 
nearby  villages,  but  the  greater  part  of  the  wounded 
were  taken  to  Castiglione.  On  the  rough  and  dusty  road 
jolted  the  merciless  carts  with  their  pitiful  burdens. 
Many  died  by  the  way,  their  bodies  being  cast  out  along 
the  roadside.  Into  the  city  poured  this  endless  pro- 
cession of  misery,  and  the  whole  place  was  soon  one  vast 
hospital.  Churches,  barracks,  convents,  and  private 
homes  were  filled  with  the  wounded ;  they  overflowed  into 
the  open  streets  and  lay  upon  the  stone  pavements  of 
the  piazzas,  where  straw  had  been  hastily  scattered. 
Hither  and  thither  rushed  distracted  citizens,  seeking 
doctors  to  minister  to  those  within  their  walls.  Side  by 
side  on  the  stone  flooring  of  the  churches  lay  friend  and 
foe  alike, — French,  Austrians,  Slavs,  Italians  and  Arabs. 
Their  agonizing  cries,  in  many  languages,  rent  the  air. 
Their  curses  and  their  prayers  mingled  together.  Burn- 
ing with  fever,  with  thirst  unquenched,  they  appealed 
in  vain  for  water,  for  the  hands  were  too  few  to  min- 
ister to  them.  There  a  man  writhed  in  the  agony  of 
tetanus,  and  one  with  shattered  jaw  motioned  dumbly 
with  his  hands  for  aid.  On  the  straw-covered  altar 
steps  lay  an  African  chasseur,  leg,  thigh  and  shoulder 
wounded.  For  three  days  he  had  had  nothing  to  eat. 
He  was  covered  with  mud  and  clotted  blood ;  his  clothing 
was  in  rags.  When  Dunant  bathed  his  wounds,  gave  him 
a  little  bouillon,  and  wrapped  a  cover  about  him  he  lifted 
his  benefactor's  hand  to  his  lips  with  an  indescribable 
expression  of  gratitude.  At  the  church  door  was  a  Hun- 
garian, whose  piercing  cries  for  a  doctor  were  inces- 
sant. His  back  and  his  shoulders  torn  by  shrapnel, 
were  masses  of  red  and  quivering  flesh.  His  body  was 
swollen,  green  and  black — horrible.  He  could  rest  in 


THE  BATTLE  OF  SOLFERINO  35 

no  position.  Dunant  dipped  lint  in  fresh,  water  and 
tried  to  make  him  comfortable,  but  gangrene  had  set  in 
and  death  soon  ended  his  suffering.  Not  far  away  lay 
a  dyinge  Zouave,  weeping  bitterly,  needing  to  be  con- 
soled like  a  little  child.  On  the  other  side  of  the  church 
were  wounded  Austrian  prisoners,  defiant  of  aid.  Some 
tore  off  their  bandages  that  their  wounds  might  bleed 
afresh,  but  others  received  with  gratitude  the  help  that 
was  given  them. 

Dunant  gathered  a  number  of  the  good  women  of  the 
city  into  a  volunteer  corps,  whose  tireless,  if  unskilled, 
services  brought  some  relief.  Noticing  that  he  made  no 
distinction  of  nationality,  they  followed  his  work,  giv- 
ing the  same  kind  care  to  all,  and  went  from  one  to 
another  repeating  with  compassion,  "tutti  fratelli" 
(all  are  brothers). 

Visiting  Brestia,  where  many  other  thousands  of 
wounded  had  taken  refuge,  he  describes  still  further  the 
suffering  he  witnessed  there — operations  performed 
without  anaesthetics,  by  surgeons  with  untrained  assist- 
ants. The  poor  young  soldier,  weak  from  suffering  and 
quivering  with  fear  and  anguish,  is  carried  to  an  oper- 
ating table,  his  heart-rending  shrieks,  and  then  the  si- 
lence— as  if  Nature  herself  could  bear  no  more  and  had 
brought  merciful  unconsciousness  to  the  wretched  man. 

Bead  scene  after  scene  from  Dunant 's  ' '  Souvenir  de 
Solferino, "  and  wonder  if  nations  must  continue  to 
settle  their  differences  or  protect  their  so-called  honor 
at  such  a  price. 

Dunant  asks,  "Why  have  we  thought  well  to  recall 
these  scenes  of  grief  and  desolation,  to  recount  such  la- 
mentable and  gruesome  details,  and  to  draw  such  vivid 
pictures  of  despair?" 

He  answers  this  question  by  another:  "Would  it  not 
be  possible  to  found  and  organize  in  all  civilized  coun- 
tries permanent  societies  of  volunteers  which  in  time  of 


36  UNDER  THE  RED  CROSS  FLAG 

war  would  render  succor  to  the  wounded  without  dis- 
tinction of  nationality?" 

Here  had  the  Treaty  of  Geneva  its  first  inception, 
and  the  spirit  of  the  Red  Cross  began  to  quicken  into 
life. 

A  month  after  the  Battle  of  Solferino,  full  of  the 
misery  he  had  witnessed  and  anxious  to  do  something 
toward  mitigating  such  sufferings  in  the  future,  Henri 
Dunant  first  enunciated  in  the  salons  of  the  Countess 
Verri  Vorromeo  at  Milan  the  idea  of  a  committee  of  suc- 
cor everywhere  being  made  permanent  and  also  of  the 
internationalization  of  the  charity,  with  the  adoption  of 
a  special  sign  recognized  by  all.  Greatly  to  his  regret, 
the  Milan  society  organized  for  the  relief  work  was  dis- 
solved at  the  end  of  the  war. 

On  his  return  to  Geneva  he  wrote  his  famous  account 
already  referred  to,  a  brief  pamphlet,  but  one  that  has 
had  a  remarkable  result.  It  was  widely  distributed 
throughout  Europe  and  made  a  profound  impression. 
Victor  Hugo  wrote  to  the  author,  ' '  You  armed  humanity 
and  served  liberty. "  The  commander-in-chief  of  the  Swiss 
army  in  a  letter  said,  "It  is  necessary  that  it  should 
be  seen  from  such  vivid  examples  as  you  have  recorded 
what  the  glory  of  the  battlefields  costs  in  torture  and  in 
tears.  The  world  is  prone  to  see  only  the  brilliant  side 
of  war  and  to  shut  its  eyes  to  all  of  the  terrible  con- 
sequences. ' ' 

Dunant  followed  up  the  success  of  his  pamphlet  by 
visiting  many  European  countries  and  interesting  many 
persons  in  his  plans.  The  Grand  Master  of  the  Order  of 
St.  John  of  Jerusalem,  Frederick  Charles  of  Prussia, 
promised  the  support  of  this  famous  order.  The  King 
of  Saxony  gave  his  endorsement,  adding,  "Any  nation 
that  does  not  join  in  this  work  of  humanity  deserves  to 
be  banned  by  public  opinion  in  Europe."  Napoleon  III 
was  an  enthusiastic  sympathizer. 

The  proposal  to  adopt  a  common  and  uniform  flag 


THE  TREATY  OF  GENEVA  37 

to  mark  hospital  formations  was  most  welcome,  for  at 
this  time  each  country  had  a  different  flag  for  its  medi- 
cal service.  In  Austria  it  was  white,  in  France  red,  in 
Spain  yellow,  and  in  other  countries  black  or  green. 
The  soldiers  knew  only  the  hospital  flag  of  their  own 
country,  and  were  ignorant  of  the  others. 

For  many  years  there  had  existed  in  Geneva  a  Soci- 
ety of  Public  Utility,  whose  efforts  were  devoted  to  the 
furtherance  of  philanthropic  and  humane  work.  This 
Society,  of  which  Monsieur  Gustav  Moynier  was  presi- 
dent, appointed  a  special  committee,  which  sent  out  a 
general  invitation  for  a  conference  to  be  held  at  Geneva 
in  October,  1863,  to  consider  the  question  of  volunteer 
aid  for  the  medical  service  of  armies  in  time  of  war 
and  also  the  neutralization  of  its  personnel.  Occa- 
sionally special  temporary  agreements  had  been  ar- 
ranged between  nations  at  war  whereby  hospital  for- 
mations and  their  personnel  were  neutralized  and  pro- 
tected, but  there  was  no  international  agreement  to  this 
effect. 

In  the  letter  of  invitation  for  the  conference  sent  to 
a  large  number  of  public-spirited  men  the  Committee 
for  the  Relief  of  Wounded  Soldiers  said : 

''The  Geneva  Society  of  Public  Utility,  complying 
with  the  desire  expressed  by  Mr.  Henri  Dunant  in  a 
book  entitled  'A  Souvenir  of  Solferino,'  organized 
among  its  members  a  committee  charged  with  working 
towards  its  realization. 

' '  This  committee  in  turn  thought  that  the  best  course 
to  pursue  in  order  to  carry  the  ideas  of  Mr.  Dunant 
from  the  domain  of  theory  to  that  of  practice,  would 
be  to  bring  about  a  meeting  of  those  persons  who  in 
the  various  countries  have  at  heart  the  philanthropic 
work  in  question,  in  order  to  examine  within  what  limits 
his  suggestion  is  practicable,  and  to  devise  measures  for 
carrying  it  out  if  possible. ' ' 

With  this  letter  was  sent  a  draft  of  a  proposed 


38  UNDER  THE  BED  CROSS  FLAG 

agreement  for  discussion.  The  somewhat  lengthy  name 
suggested  for  the  conference  was,  "An  International  Con- 
ference for  Investigating  the  Means  to  Supplement  the 
Inadequacy  of  Medical  Services  of  Annies  in  Cam- 
paigns. ' ' 

At  this  first  conference,  at  which  fonrteen  European 
countries  were  represented,  we  learn  from  Mr.  Moy- 
nier's  address  that  an  objection  sometimes  still  made  to 
Red  Cross  work  had  already  been  raised:  "It  has  been 
stated  that  instead  of  seeking  expedients  to  render  war 
less  murderous,  we  should  do  better  to  attack  the  evil 
at  its  root  and  to  work  toward  universal  and  perpetual 
pacification  of  the  world.  To  hear  our  critics  it  would 
really  seem  that  we  are  attempting  to  do  nothing  less 
than  take  part  in  legitimate  warfare  by  regarding  it 
as  a  necessary  evil. 

"Is  this  criticism  serious?  I  cannot  believe  so.  We 
certainly  desire  as  much  as,  and  more  than,  anyone  that 
men  shall  cease  to  butcher  one  another  and  that  they 
shall  repudiate  this  remnant  of  barbarism  which  they 
have  inherited  from  their  forefathers.  With  the  aid  of 
Christianity,  they  will  succeed  in  doing  this  sooner  or 
later,  and  we  applaud  the  efforts  of  those  who  work  to 
bring  about  better  relations.  However,  we  are  convinced 
that  it  will  be  necessary  for  a  long  time  yet  to  reckon 
with  human  passions  and  endure  their  baleful  conse- 
quences. Why,  then,  if  we  cannot  absolutely  and  imme- 
diately do  away  with  them,  should  we  not  seek  to  lessen 
them?  Charity  commends  this  course,  and  it  is  because 
we  have  listened  to  the  voice  of  charity  that  we  are 
here.  I  cannot  understand  wherein  our  attempts  would 
seem  to  be  calculated  to  retard  the  dawn  of  the  era 
of  peace,  of  which  we  see  a  glimpse.  Moreover,  I  am 
convinced  that  in  organizing  assistance  for  the  wounded, 
in  addressing  earnest  appeals  to  the  inhabitants  in 
behalf  of  their  misery,  and  in  describing,  for  the  needs 
of  our  cause,  the  lamentable  spectacle  of  a  battlefield, 


THE  TREATY  OF  GENEVA  39 

unveiling  the  terrible  realities  of  war  and  proclaiming 
them  in  the  name  of  charity,  a  thing  which  it  is  too 
often  the  interest  of  politics  to  keep  hidden,  we  shall 
do  more  for  the  disarmament  of  peoples  than  those  who 
resort  to  the  economy  arguments  or  declarations  of 
sterile  sentimentality. 

"An  attempt  has  also  been  made  to  dissuade  us  from 
our  project  by  telling  us  that  we  are  pursuing  a  chimera, 
that  we  are  swimming  in  Utopia  itself,  and  that  after 
wasting  our  time  on  dissertations  regarding  the  neces- 
sity of  remedying  the  present  state  of  affairs,  we  would 
encounter  insurmountable  obstacles. 

"Gentlemen,  the  committee  which  has  called  you 
together  has  never  failed  to  realize  the  difficulties  of 
execution  which  awaited  it ;  but  it  has  been  sufficient  for 
it  that  its  design  should  not  be  a  dream  in  its  own 
eyes,  in  order  not  to  abandon  its  plan  without  subjecting 
it  to  a  decisive  test.  The  organization  of  volunteer  hos- 
pital attendants,  as  sketched  in  'A  Souvenir  of  Sol- 
ferino, '  aroused  much  criticism,  but  this  book  contains 
a  noble  idea  which  deserves  close  examination.  It  was 
after  maturely  and  deliberately  reflecting  thereon  at 
the  invitation  of  the  Geneva  Society  of  Public  Utility 
that  we  formulated  in  a  draft  agreement  the  proposi- 
tions which  we  have  invited  you  to  come  and  discuss 
with  us." 

Mr.  Twining,  an  eminent  English  philanthropist, 
though  not  present  at  this  meeting,  sent  a  letter  con- 
taining a  number  of  suggestions,  one  of  which  was 
startling  in  its  nature,  providing  that  a  fatally  wound- 
ed man  on  the  field  of  battle  might  have  his  agony  put 
an  end  to  in  some  merciful  way.  This  recalls  a  story 
told  by  Ambroise  Pare  in  his  account  of  the  Campaign 
in  Turin  in  1537:  "Being  come  into  the  city  I  entered 
into  a  stable  thinking  to  lodge  my  own  and  my  man's 
horse  and  found  four  dead  soldiers  and  three  propped 
against  the  wall,  their  features  all  changed  and  they 


40  UNDER  THE  RED  CROSS  FLAG 

neither  saw,  heard  nor  spake,  and  their  clothes  were 
still  smouldering  where  the  gunpowder  had  burnt  them. 
As  I  was  looking  at  them  with  pity  there  came  an  old 
soldier  who  asked  me  if  there  were  any  way  to  cure 
them.  I  said  'No.'  And  then  he  went  up  to  them  and 
cut  their  throats  very  gently  and  without  ill  will  toward 
them.  Seeing  this  great  cruelty,  I  told  him  he  was  a 
villain  •,  he  answered  that  he  prayed  God  when  he  should 
be  in  such  a  plight  he  might  find  someone  to  do  the  same 
for  him  that  he  should  not  linger  in  misery." 

Mr.  Twining 's  other  proposals  were  that  there-  should 
be  a  Sunday  truce  like  the  "Truce  of  God"  of  the  Mid- 
^dle  Ages;  truces  for  the  burial  of  the  dead  and  the  re- 
moval of  the  wounded ;  regulations  as  to  conduct  toward 
wounded  and  prisoners;  reprisals;  the  fate  of  places 
taken  by  assault ;  the  rigors  to  be  permitted  toward  hos- 
tile populations,  according  to  their  more  or  less  hostile 
attitude.  Certain  of  these  suggestions  were  later  adopt- 
ed by  the  Treaty  of  Geneva  and  others  by  that  of  The 
Hague. 

Prince  Demidoff,  of  Russia,  called  attention  to  the 
attitude  toward  prisoners  of  war.  He  said: 

' '  There  is  no  doubt  but  wounded  persons  deserve  the 
most  energetic  demonstration  of  interest  and  the  prompt- 
est assistance.  But  after  them  there  is  another  class 
of  unfortunates,  who,  being  more  or  less  ill  treated  by 
marches  and  combats,  suffer  a  moral  agony,  although 
their  life  is  saved,  which  it  is  the  duty  of  a  Christian 
spirit  to  console.  I  speak  of  prisoners  of  war.  These 
latter  are  dragged  off  into  exile,  far  from  their  country, 
into  regions  where  everything  is  unknown  to  them — 
habits,  customs  and  language.  Without  doubt  the  hu- 
maneness of  all  governments  has  done  much  in  recent 
times  to  relieve  the  condition  of  prisoners.  The  aid 
which  is  afforded  them  in  order  to  insure  their  material 
existence  is  generally  humane  and  adequate;  moreover, 
the  hospitable  spirit  of  all  nations  receives  with  respect 


THE  TREATY  OF  GENEVA  41 

and  pities  those  who  have  been  betrayed  by  the  fate  of 
armies.  However,  these  exiles,  like  all  other  people  on 
this  earth,  do  not  live  on  bread  alone.  Pictures  of  their 
country  and  of  their  families  follow  them  on  to  soil 
where  everything  is  mute  to  them.  They  therefore  feel 
intensely  the  need  of  a  sign  or  souvenir  which  will 
recall  to  them  the  things  which  they  miss. 

"During  the  great  wars  which  preceded  1815  a 
prisoner  of  war  was  practically  a  forgotten  man.  The 
difficulty  of  communications  across  regions  which  were 
disorganized  by  war  caused  it  to  be  considered  as  a  rare 
fortune  to  receive  a  letter,  though  often  delayed  several 
months;  but  nowadays  there  are  no  longer  any  coun- 
tries which  are  inaccessible.  Now  the  mail  is  a  prisoner's 
consolation.  It  gives  him  courage  and  resignation,  it 
is  a  thing  which  reconciles  him  with  exile  and  makes 
him  judge  without  hostile  prejudice  the  country  where 
fate  has  thrown  him.  With  the  assistance  of  means 
which  were  less  perfect  than  to-day  this  work  of  enabling 
the  prisoners  of  war  of  belligerent  nations  to  correspond 
with  their  country  was  undertaken  by  me  during  the 
war  of  1854.  Being  established  at  Vienna,  at  the  Impe- 
rial Russian  Legation,  of  which  I  formed  a  part,  I  had 
had  from  the  beginning  of  hostilities  a  quite  natural 
thought  of  affording  fraternal  and  anonymous  protection 
to  those  of  my  compatriots  taken  prisoners  who  were  in- 
terned in  France  and  England.  With  the  help  of  a 
devoted  agent  residing  in  Paris,  and  who  was  continu- 
ally visiting  all  of  the  depots,  with  the  pious  assistance 
of  the  two  heads  of  the  Orthodox  Greek  Church  at  Paris 
and  London,  who  gave  the  prisoners  the  encouragement 
of  their  words  and  charity,  the  assistance  given  to  these 
expatriated  was  as  complete  as  possible.  Letters,  news 
from  their  families,  remittances  of  money,  useful  infor- 
mation and  material  relief  sent  from  afar  by  sympa- 
thetic patriotism — all  of  this  contributed  toward  reliev- 
ing their  situation  under  the  benevolent  authorization 


42  UNDER  THE  RED  CROSS  FLAG 

of  the  respective  governments.  As  soon  as  this  work  in 
behalf  of  my  compatriots  had  attained  success,  I  has- 
tened to  extend  it  to  the  prisoners  of  nations  hostile  to 
Russia  and  scattered  throughout  the  various  parts  of 
the  Empire.  The  most  generous  facilities  were  afforded 
to  me.  A  general  centre  of  correspondence  was  estab- 
lished at  Constantinople,  and  until  the  war  ended  and 
the  prisoners  were  sent  home  the  latter  were  enabled  to 
profit  by  the  benefit  of  a  simple  and  practical  idea, 
which,  to  sum  up,  had  imposed  upon  me  only  very  slight 
sacrifices. 

"This  is  what  I  take  the  liberty  of  commending  to 
your  consideration,  when  the  noble  thought  which  you 
have  expressed  comes  up  for  discussion  in  centres  where 
Christian  philosophy  and  universal  philanthropy  pre- 
vail." 

This  suggestion  of  Prince  Demidoff  was  not  taken  up 
at  the  Geneva  Convention,  but  later  by  the  Treaty  of 
The  Hague,  which  recommends  the  formation  of  bu- 
reaus of  prisoners  of  war,  Red  Cross  Societies  agreed 
to  make  this  aid  part  of  their  official  duties.  At  present 
there  are  doubtless  nearly  a  million  prisoners  of  war, 
and  the  importance  of  aid  being  given  them  must  be 
realized.  If  consideration  for  the  wounded,  even  in 
humane  countries,  is  secondary  in  war,  the  prisoner  is 
very  apt  to  receive  slight  consideration. 

The  deliberations  of  this  conference  at  Geneva  were 
expressed  in  resolutions  to  the  following  effect: 

That  in  each  country  adhering  to  the  proposed  agree- 
ment a  committee  should  be  formed  to  co-operate  in  time 
of  war  with  the  military  medical  service,  each  commit- 
tee being  organized  as  its  members  deemed  expedient ;  in 
time  of  peace  a  trained  personnel  should  be  organized 
and  supplies  collected ;  the  aid  of  the  societies  of  neutral 
nations  might  be  invited;  the  volunteer  societies  irre- 
spective of  the  country  to  which  they  belong  should  wear 
a  distinctive  badge — a  red  cross  on  a  white  ground. 


THE  TREATY  OF  GENEVA  43 

The  conference  also  recommended  the  neutralization  of 
hospital  formations  and  their  personnel. 

Because  of  the  success  of  this  conference,  the  Swiss 
Government  in  1864  addressed  an  invitation  to  twenty- 
five  sovereign  States  to  send  representatives  to  a  diplo- 
matic convention  to  be  held  that  year  in  August  at 
Geneva.  At  this  convention  the  United  States  was  rep- 
resented informally  by  our  Minister  to  Switzerland, 
Mr.  George  C.  Fogg,  and  associated  with  him  was  Mr. 
Charles  S.  P.  Bowles,  European  agent  of  the  Sanitary 
Commission. 

In  the  letter  authorizing  Mr.  Fogg  to  attend  the  con- 
vention, the  Secretary  of  State  said: 

"The  object  of  the  proposed  congress  is  certainly 
laudable  and  important,  and  the  Department  sees  no 
objection  to  your  being  present  on  the  occasion.  You 
are,  therefore,  authorized  to  attend  the  meeting  in  an 
informal  manner,  for  the  purpose  of  giving  or  receiving 
such  suggestions  as  you  may  think  likely  to  promote  the 
humane  ends  which  have  prompted  it.  It  is  hardly  nec- 
essary to  add  that  your  presence  at  the  congress  would 
be  improper  if  any  of  the  insurgent  emissaries  of  the 
United  States  in  Europe  should  be  permitted  to  take 
part  in  its  proceedings." 

Many  of  the  military  representatives  at  this  conven- 
tion were  incredulous  as  to  the  possibility  of  securing 
the  adoption  of  a  treaty  based  on  the  recommendations 
of  the  conference  of  the  year  before.  Fortunate  it  was 
for  this  great  project  that  a  representative  of  the  Sani- 
tary Commission  was  present. 

Mr.  Bowles  in  his  report,  says: 

"But  I  was  able  to  prove  that  this  same  'mythical' 
institution — the  United  States  Sanitary  Commission— * 
had  long  since  met  with  and  overcome  the  difficulties 
which  some  delegates  were  now  predicting  and  recoiling 
before;  had  long  since  solved,  and  practically,  too,  the 
very  problems  which  they  were  now  delving  over.  More- 


44  UNDER  THE  RED  CROSS  FLAG 

over,  I  had  just  arrived  from  the  scene  of  these  labors 
in  the  United  States,  and  with  the  battlefield,  hospital 
and  burying  ground  freshly  pictured  in  my  mind,  could 
speak  to  them  but  too  earnestly  of  war,  the  disease  of 
all  nations,  and  its  known  or  proposed  remedies.  I  had 
brought  with  me  from  the  United  States  the  latest  re- 
ports and  most  valuable  publications  of  the  Commission, 
and  a  number  of  photographs  from  life  of  the  field  relief 
corps  with  its  men,  wagons,  horses,  tents,  and  their 
arrangements  and  action.  These  life  pictures,  books  and 
practical  proofs,  produced  an  effect  as  great  as  it  was 
valuable.  To  many  of  them,  earnest  men  seeking  for 
light,  with  their  whole  hearts  in  the  interest  of  a  long 
suffering  humanity,  it  was  like  the  sight  of  the  promised 
land  They  had  been  working  in  the  dark,  and  this  was 
the  opening  of  a  window,  letting  in  a  flood  of  light  and 
putting  an  end  to  all  darkness  and  doubt." 

A  remarkable  spirit  of  harmony  characterized  the 
convention,  for,  although  discussions  were  often  in- 
tense and  opinions  differed  widely,  one  of  the  delegates 
reports :  ' '  Yet  the  charm  was  never  broken  by  an  unkind 
word  or  feeling  between  any  two  of  its  members. ' '  The 
treaty  which  was  eventually  adopted  is  generally  called 
the  Geneva  Treaty,  but  sometimes  the  Red  Cross  Treaty. 
It  provides  for  protection  for  hospital  formations  and 
their  personnel  in  time  of  war.  Out  of  compliment  to 
Switzerland  the  Swiss  flag  with  its  colors  reversed — a 
red  cross  on  a  white  ground — was  adopted  as  the  world- 
wide insignia  of  humanity  and  neutrality.  This  treaty, 
revised  at  a  convention  held  at  Geneva  in  1906,  includes 
under  its  protection  the  Red  Cross  or  volunteer  aid  soci- 
eties which  have  received  official  sanction  from  their 
respective  governments.  The  Treaty  of  The  Hague  ex- 
tends to  naval  warfare  the  provisions  of  the  Treaty  of 
Geneva. 

At  a  banquet  given  for  the  delegates  to  the  original 
convention  of  1864  there  was  in  the  centre  of  the  table 


THE  TREATY  OF  GENEVA  45 

a  large  piece  of  confection,  representing  a  fortress  with 
its  garrison  and  sanitary  workers,  distinguished  by  the 
Eed  Cross  brassard,  pursuing  their  functions.  The 
tower  was  surmounted  by  small  silk  flags  of  the  Swiss 
Republic  and  Canton  of  Geneva,  around  the  central 
flag,  a  red  cross  on  a  white  field,  the  emblem  of  neutral- 
ity, just  adopted  by  Congress.  "After  the  first  toast, 
this  flag  was  taken  from  its  place  by  the  President,  who, 
turning  to  me  as  the  representative  of  the  United  States 
Sanitary  Commission,  presented  it  as  a  token  of  appre- 
ciation of  the  Commission's  labors  for  the  good  of  all 
humanity.  To  this  kind  and  unexpected  compliment  to 
our  Commission  and  to  the  accompanying  speech  of  the 
President,  I  replied  as  well  as  I  could;  but  the  act,  the 
sentiment,  the  acclamations  of  surrounding  friends,  and, 
withal,  the  proud  consciousness  of  a  deserving  cause, 
almost  overwhelmed  me.  The  full  outburst  of  a  chorus 
from  'William  Tell,'  given  by  the  Geneva  Musical  So- 
ciety in  the  hall  outside,  though  it  covered  my  retreat, 
did  not  add  to  my  equanimity ;  for  from  the  windows  of 
the  dining  hall  we  could  almost  see  the  spot  on  which 
the  Republic 's  hero  shot  Gessler.  These  associations  and 
the  music  by  Rossini  sung  by  Swiss  compatriots  upon  the 
historic  ground  made  an  inexpressibly  powerful  impres- 
sion upon  me.  Those  of  us  who  amid  darkness,  doubt 
and  the  exultant  sneers  and  insults  of  aristocratic  des- 
potism had  been  forced  to  watch  from  abroad  the  second 
great  struggle  for  the  maintenance  of  our  country's 
liberties  will  best  understand  the  force  of  pent-up 
feeling  which  events  like  these  at  Geneva  could  not  have 
failed  to  let  loose." 

As  the  noble  work  of  Florence  Nightingale  had  been 
the  inspiration  for  Henri  Dunant's  and  his  collaborators' 
splendid  achievement,  so  had  the  practical  labors  of  our 
own  great  Sanitary  Commission  helped  to  lay  the  foun- 
dations for  the  Treaty  of  Geneva. 


CHAPTER  III 

A  PRECURSOR  OF  THE  RED  CROSS.  ORIGIN  OF  THE 
SANITARY  COMMISSION.  PREVENTIVE  MEASURES. 
OFFICIAL  OBSTACLES.  INQUIRY  AND  ADVICE.  RE- 
MARKABLE DEFEAT  INVESTIGATION.  HOSPITAL 
INSPECTION.  LEAFLETS  BY  SPECIALISTS.  EVACU- 
ATION BY  BOAT  AND  TRAIN.  SOLDIERS'  AID  SOCI- 
ETIES. LACK  OF  FUNDS.  CALIFORNIA  SAVES  THE 
DAY.  SANITARY  FAIRS.  DISTRIBUTION  OF  SUP- 
PLIES. TRANSPORTATION  PROBLEMS.  FIRST  USE 
OF  TREATY  INSIGNIA.  RELIEF  CORPS  DUTIES. 
HOSPITAL  DIRECTORY.  UNITED  STATES  CHRISTIAN 
COMMISSION.  CONCLUSIONS. 

PREVIOUS  to  our  own  Civil  War  organized  and  sys- 
tematic relief  for  the  sick  and  wounded  soldiers  had 
never  been  undertaken  on  any  large  scale.  Because  we 
had  to  create  an  army  out  of  undisciplined  civilian  sol- 
diers in  charge  of  untrained  and  inexperienced  officers, 
it  became  at  the  very  first  evident  to  thoughtful  men 
that  if  the  health  and  morale  of  our  forces  were  to  be 
maintained  the  medical  department  of  the  army  must  be 
organized  and  supplemented  by  volunteer  aid.  If  by 
experience  alone  the  lessons  of  war  were  to  be  learned, 
the  price  would  be  appalling.  The  public  itself  had  no 
understanding  of  the  needs  of  preventive  measures. 
State  by  State  the  regiments  were  being  formed  and 
gathered  into  local  camps.  In  most  cases  little  or  no 
attention  was  paid  to  the  selection  of  the  camp  and  its 
sanitation,  while  clothing  and  quarters  were  matters  of 
small  importance.  There  was  a  blind  optimism  preva- 
lent. Discipline  was  unnecessary,  not  to  be  borne  by 
volunteers,  and  courage  could  take  the  place  of  training. 

With  a  vivid  recollection  of  the  fearful  mortality 
due  to  such  ignorance  and  neglect  during  the  Crimean 
46 


A  PRECURSOR  OF  THE  RED  CROSS       47 

War,  an  earnest  group  of  our  American  men  studied 
the  situation  existing  here.  They  knew  that  had  not  the 
matter  been  taken  in  hand  by  the  British  War  Depart- 
ment after  it  had  already  paid  a  heavy  and  unnecessary 
toll  of  human  life,  in  ten  months'  time  the  entire  British 
army  would  have  been  destroyed.  There  was  need  with 
us  of  immediate  attention  to  preventive  measures,  and 
not  investigation  after  the  war  was  over. 

The  medical  service  of  our  own  army  was  out  of 
date ;  and  even  with  the  desire  to  do  more  effective  work 
it  was  without  power  to  carry  out  any  vital  reforms.  It 
was  also  jealous  of  outside  interference,  yet  nothing 
could  be  accomplished  without  co-operation  upon  the  part 
of  the  medical  department  on  the  one  hand  and  intelli- 
gent volunteer  assistance  on  the  other  to  educate  public 
opinion,  force  government  action  and  likewise  supple- 
ment the  actual  labors  of  the  official  organization. 

Many  of  the  first  regiments  that  reached  Washing- 
ton were  unfit  for  military  service.  They  arrived  after 
long,  slow  journeys  in  crowded  cattle  cars,  where  no 
provision  had  been  made  for  their  care  and  comfort. 
The  officers,  new  to  their  duties,  had  made  no  prepara- 
tion for  their  reception  at  the  Capital,  and  hours  of 
weary  waiting  followed  the  exhausting  journey.  When 
at  last  a  hastily  prepared  camp  was  reached,  the  men, 
utterly  tired  out,  found  scanty  straw  for  their  beds  and 
shoddy  blankets  for  their  covering.  The  careful  stu- 
dents of  this  situation  became  convinced  of  the  necessity 
of  arousing  the  Government  to  the  importance  of 
promptly  taking  in  hand  active  measures  to  change  such 
conditions.  The  necessity  also  of  controlling  and  putting 
to  practical  use  the  excited  generosity  of  the  public  im- 
pressed itself  upon  them. 

On  April  15,  1861,  the  day  that  President  Lincoln 
called  for  volunteers,  the  women  of  Bridgeport,  Connec- 
ticutt,  and  those  of  Charleston,  West  Virginia,  started  or- 
ganizations for  soldiers'  relief.  Soon  other  cities  followed 


48  UNDER  THE  RED  CROSS  FLAG 

their  example.  Inspired  with;  a  patriotic  desire,  plans 
were  hastily  made  to  supply  nurses,  bring  home  sick  and 
wounded  soldiers,  and  to  forward  comforts,  provisions, 
books  and  papers  to  the  men  at  the  front.  The  latter 
part  of  April  there  was  held  at  Cooper 's  Institute,  on  the 
invitation  of  ninety-two  of  the  most  prominent  women 
of  New  York  city,  a  large  and  enthusiastic  meeting, 
which  was  attended  by  Dr.  Bellows  and  Dr.  Elisha  Har- 
ris, later  two  of  the  most  active  members  of  the  Sani- 
tary Commission.  At  that  time  there  was  organized 
"The  Women's  Central  Association  of  Relief,"  whose 
duties  were  to  collect  suitable  supplies,  establish  ware- 
houses for  their  storage,  bureaus  for  the  examination 
and  registration  of  nurses,  and  to  provide  supplement- 
ary aid  in  various  forms  to  the  Army  Medical  Service. 
Physicians'  and  surgeons'  associations  organized  and 
opened  a  depot  for  lint  and  bandages. 

The  nervous  energy  soon  led  to  excited  discussions 
over  medical  matters,  such,  for  example,  as,  What  was 
the  most  suitable  kind  of  lint?  As  trained  nursing  at 
that  time  was  not  a  profession,  the  important  problem 
of  securing  nurses  received  apparently  little  attention. 
It  became  evident  in  a  short  time  that  there  were  many 
complicated  questions  besides  that  of  lint  requiring  solu- 
tion by  the  Government.  For  this  reason  a  delegation 
consisting  of  Dr.  Bellows  and  several  others  represent- 
ing the  associations  that  had  just  been  formed  went  to 
Washington.  The  utmost  confusion  prevailed  there. 
The  Government,  deluged  by  suggestions  from  all  parts 
of  the  country,  recommending  every  kind  of  remedy 
for  war  or  imaginary  evils,  was  pursuing  a  "tentative 
policy"  without  definite  purpose.  The  delegation  taking 
its  place  with  many  others,  was  received  courteously, 
rather  because  of  its  personnel  than  for  its  counsels. 

At  first  a  call  was  made  upon  General  Scott,  and 
though  the  Medical  Department  later  declined  assist- 
ance, one  important  point  was  gained.  The  experienced 


ORIGIN  OF  SANITARY  COMMISSION       49 

old  commander  of  the  Mexican  War  was  cognizant  of 
the  condition  of  many  of  the  volunteers,  and  a  physical 
examination  test  was  decided  upon  before  the  men  were 
permitted  to  enlist.  However,  the  carrying  out  of  this 
regulation  to  weed  out  the  unfit  made  such  serious  in- 
roads upon  the  troops  there  was  grave  danger  of  arous- 
ing the  country's  alarm,  so  that  many  unqualified  for 
hard  service  were  still  retained. 

After  the  exercise  of  much  diplomacy,  the  delegation 
succeeded  in  having  appointed  a  Sanitary  Commission 
to  act  in  an  advisory  capacity  to  the  Surgeon  General's 
Department.  Neither  President  Lincoln  nor  the  Sec- 
retary of  War  looked  with  favor  upon  the  proposition, 
the  former  referring  to  it  as  "  a  fifth  wheel  to  the  coach. ' ' 

The  obstacles  that  the  Commission  was  forced  to 
overcome  and  the  consequent  delay  because  of  Govern- 
ment reluctance  to  avail  itself  of  the  invaluable  service 
offered  it  were  a  serious  handicap.  No  better  proof  is 
required  than  this  of  the  need  for  a  permanent  and 
trained  Eed  Cross  organization,  which,  having  received 
governmental  authority  beforehand,  is  constantly  in 
touch  with  the  departments  that  in  war  would  require  its 
assistance.  It  is  then  possible  for  its  duties  to  be  care- 
fully studied  out  and  regulated  by  both  government  and 
association  officers  when  not  under  the  stress  and  pres- 
sure of  war.  In  the  organization  of  our  American  Eed 
Cross  the  surgeon  generals  of  the  army  and  navy  are, 
respectively,  chairman  and  vice-chairman  of  the  War 
Relief  Board.  It  would  therefore  be  impossible  for  the 
situation  that  confronted  volunteer  assistance  at  the  out- 
break of  the  Civil  War  to  again  arise. 

To  be  quite  sure  that  the  Commission's  functions  in 
no  way  interfered  with  the  Government  it  was  given 
the  cumbersome  title  of  "  Commission  of  Inquiry  and 
Advice  in  Respect  to  the  Sanitary  Interest  of  the  United 
States  Forces."  Dr.  Henry  W.  Bellows  was  selected  as 
chairman,  and  Mr.  Frederick  Law  Olmsted  as  secretary. 
4 


50  UNDER  THE  RED  CROSS  FLAG 

The  Commission  was  divided  into  two  committees; 
the  first,  on  Inquiry,  subdivided  its  work  between  com- 
mittees on  inquiries  from  experience  of  foreign  wars, 
on  inspection  in  camps  for  actual  conditions,  on  matters 
of  diet,  clothing  and  quarters,  etc.  The  second  commit- 
tee, on  Advice,  took  upon  itself  a  service  somewhat 
greater  than  its  name  implied.  Acting  upon  conclusions 
based  upon  the  inquiries  of  the  former  committee,  its 
duties  were  to  get  such  conclusions  approved  by  the 
Medical  Bureau,  ordered  by  the  War  Department,  and 
carried  out  by  officers  and  men. 

Though  the  Commission  became  the  active  agency  in 
the  distribution  of  the  vast  quantities  of  material  sup- 
plies, and  so  to  the  public  lost  its  primary  object,  this 
was  ever  uppermost  in  the  minds  of  the  initiators.  It 
looked  to  preventive  measures.  It  planned  to  supple- 
ment Government  deficiencies  and  with  courteous  firm- 
ness to  secure  the  fulfilment  of  their  responsibilities  by 
the  officers  entrusted  with  the  general  welfare  of  the 
troops. 

The  commission  was  without  any  Government  finan- 
cial support  and  therefore  independent  of  Government 
control.  As  bureaus  of  inspection,  by  various  capable 
agents,  were  immediately  necessary,  a  first  appeal  for 
funds  was  made  to  life  insurance  companies,  which 
promptly  responded.  The  inspection  of  twenty  camps  of 
volunteers  near  Washington  revealed  the  facts :  that  there 
was  no  system  of  drainage,  no  attention  paid  to  camp 
sanitation  or  bathing  facilities  provided  for  the  men ;  the 
tents  were  overcrowded,  the  atmosphere  about  them  of- 
fensive, the  clothing  of  the  men  of  the  poorest  quality, 
and  generally  very  soiled.  Police  duty  and  the  enforce- 
ment of  camp  regulations  were  totally  inadequate.  Ra- 
tions were  unsuitable.  Beef  and  pork  there  were  in 
plenty,  but  no  fresh  vegetables;  and  the  food  was 
wretchedly  cooked,  so  that  scurvy  and  dysentery  were 


REMARKABLE  DEFEAT  INVESTIGATION  51 

inevitable.  The  Western  camps  presented  the  same  un- 
fortunate conditions  to  the  inspectors. 

The  Commission's  first  recommendations  were  for 
accommodations  near  the  station  at  Washington  to  re- 
ceive troops  on  their  arrival,  that  part  of  the  soldier's 
pay  be  remitted  to  his  family,  that  the  camps  establish 
proper  regulations  and  adequate  policing,  that  compe- 
tent cooks  be  employed,  and  fresh  vegetables  provided. 
Little  attention  was  paid  by  the  Government  to  these 
gratuitous  recommendations.  But  the  disastrous  defeat 
at  the  first  battle  of  Bull  Run  produced  an  impression 
that  the  recommendations  had  failed  to  do.  Seventy-five 
questions  as  to  the  practical  reasons  for  the  defeat  were 
asked  of  officers  and  men  by  the  Commission.  These 
questions  included  inquiries  as  to  the  strength  of  the 
regiments,  when  the  last  meal  before  the  encounter  was 
taken,  the  degree  of  vigor  at  the  commencement,  the 
causes  of  exhaustion  before  it  began,  the  fulfilment  of 
their  duties  by  the  Commissary  Department,  the  physical 
and  moral  condition  of  the  troops  during  the  battle  and 
causes  of  exhaustion,  the  extent  and  degree  of  demoraliza- 
tion and  its  causes.  Never  in  history  has  so  remarkable 
a  category  of  questions  looking  to  the  explanation  of  a 
defeat  after  a  severe  battle  been  made  on  the  spot  and  so 
soon  after  the  result.  The  Government's  incompetence 
in  looking  out  for  the  welfare  of  the  troops  was  made  so 
manifest,  based  on  the  evidence  obtained  through  the 
answers  to  these  questions,  that  the  report  was  withheld 
from  the  public.  In  a  few  regiments,  like  the  Second 
Rhode  Island,  where  inspection  had  shown  that  sanitary 
conditions  prevailed  and  discipline  was  maintained  in 
the  camp  before  it  left  for  the  battlefield,  no  demoraliza- 
tion was  found. 

But  the  troops  that  previously  had  been  illy  fed,  neg- 
lected and  undisciplined  started  the  battle  exhausted  and 
in  a  short  space  of  time  were  converted  into  a  routed, 


5fc  UNDER  THE  RED  CROSS  FLAG 

half -starved  mob.  Mr.  Olmsted's  report  gives  a  graphic 
picture  of  Washington  shortly  after  this  defeat : 

"Groups  of  men  wearing  parts  of  military  uniforms 
and  some  of  them  with  muskets  were  indeed  to  be  seen ; 
but  upon  second  sight  they  did  not  appear  to  be  soldiers. 
Bather  they  were  a  most  woe-begone  rabble,  which  had 
perhaps  clothed  itself  with  the  garments  of  dead  sol- 
diers left  on  a  hard-fought  battlefield.  No  two  were 
dressed  completely  alike;  some  were  without  caps,  oth- 
ers without  coats,  others  without  shoes.  All  were  alike 
excessively  dirty,  unshaven,  unkempt,  and  dank  with 
dew.  The  groups  were  formed  around  fires  made  in  the 
streets,  of  boards  wrenched  from  citizens'  fences.  Some 
were  still  asleep,  at  full  length  in  the  gutters  and  on 
doorsteps,  or  sitting  on  the  curbstone  resting  their  heads 
against  the  lamp-posts.  Others  were  evidently  begging 
for  food  at  house-doors.  Some  appeared  ferocious,  others 
only  sick  and  dejected — all  excessively  weak,  hungry 
and  selfish.  There  was  no  apparent  organization;  no 
officers  were  seen  among  them,  seldom  even  a  non-com- 
missioned officer.  At  Willard's  Hotel,  however,  officers 
swarmed.  They,  too,  were  dirty  and  in  ill  condition ;  but 
appeared  indifferent,  reckless,  and  shameless,  rather 
than  dejected  and  morose. ' ' 

Justly  alarmed,  the  Government  inaugurated  reforms 
that  had  been  previously  suggested,  and  the  disinterested 
men  of  the  Commission  had  the  satisfaction  of  witness- 
ing immediate  improvement  in  the  health,  morale  and 
contentment  of  the  volunteers,  who  at  first  were  con- 
sidered unwilling  to  submit  to  strict  military  discipline. 

The  next  important  field  of  usefulness  undertaken 
by  the  commission  was  the  inspection  of  hospitals. 
The  buildings  selected  for  this  purpose  were  generally 
Unsuitable  and  badly  arranged.  The  attendants  and 
nurses  were  almost  totally  untrained  and  unqualified 
for  such  service.  Encouraged  by  the  Government's 
change  of  attitude,  the  Commission  advised  that  tern- 


HOSPITAL  INSPECTION  53 

porary  hospitals  for  fifteen  thousand  be  built,  and 
arranged  in  the  "Pavilion  System,"  each  ward  of  fifty 
beds  in  a  separate  building. 

The  result  of  the  adoption  of  this  plan  was  a  prompt 
reduction  in  the  death  rate.  More  thorough  camp  inspec- 
tion by  six  especial  delegates  followed.  This  included 
inspection  of  the  soldiers'  bedding  and  clothing,  of  the 
sources  and  quality  of  water,  the  character  of  rations 
and  cooking,  camp  discipline,  qualification  of  medical 
officers,  sickness  and  mortality  among  the  troops,  and 
the  nature  of  local  hospital  accommodations.  On  the 
whole,  the  officers,  though  ignorant,  were  willing  to 
receive  suggestions  and  to  try  to  carry  them  out. 

Adequate  transportation  of  the  wounded  was  another 
problem  to  be  considered;  and  also  that  pertaining  to 
nurses,  as  many  of  the  male  nurses  employed  in  the 
evacuation  were  inefficient  and  even  brutal.  Jealousy 
sometimes  interfered  with  the  efforts  of  the  Commission, 
but  back  of  it  was  the  strong  force  of  public  confidence 
that  enabled  it  to  continue  and  to  carry  on  its  great  work. 

The  purpose  of  the  Commission — and  to  which  it 
clung  with  an  ever-steadfast  tenacity — was  defined  by 
its  officers  in  these  words  : 

"The  one  point  which  controls  the  commission 
is  just  this  :  A  simple  desire  and  resolute  determination 
to  secure  for  the  men  who  have  enlisted  in  this  war  that 
care  which  it  is  the  duty  of  the  nation  to  give  them.  That 
care  is  their  right,  and  in  the  Government  or  out  of  it, 
it  must  be  given  them,  let  who  will  stand  in  the  way. ' ' 

To  carry  out  this  purpose  involved  work  so  varied 
and  so  extensive  that  it  is  not  easy  to  give  even  a  brief 
account  of  its  activities,  yet  everyone  of  them  is  of 
immediate  practical  value  to-day. 

The  Commission  printed  thousands  of  leaflets  pre- 
pared by  expert  specialists,  containing  the  latest  medi- 
cal advice  regarding  the  treatment  of  sick  and  wounded, 
and  these  were  distributed  among  the  surgeons,  many 


64  UNDER  THE  RED  CROSS  FLAG 

of  whom,  hastily  selected  men,  were  poorly  qualified  for 
their  duties.  By  patient  and  persistent  efforts  the  Army 
Medical  Service  was  reorganized,  and  more  effective  co- 
operation between  it  and  the  Quartermaster's  Depart- 
ment, upon  which  it  largely  depended,  was  brought 
about. 

Branches  of  the  commission  were  established  in  the 
western  cities,  with  depots  for  the  collection  of  supplies 
to  be  distributed  from  central  stations  at  army  head- 
quarters. 

Evacuation  of  the  wounded  by  steamers  on  the  Mis- 
sissippi and  Ohio  was  another  duty.  Strange  as  it  may 
seem,  with  all  the  improvements  of  medical  service  of 
armies,  they  are  yet  unable  to  keep  pace  with  war's 
destruction.  The  picture  of  the  conditions  of  the 
wounded  after  the  capture  of  Fort  Donelson,  as  described 
by  an  eye-witness,  might  find  its  reproduction  back  of 
many  of  the  battle  lines  to-day: 

"Some  were  just  as  they  had  been  left  by  the  for- 
tune of  war  (four  days  before) ;  their  wounds,  as  yet, 
undressed,  smeared  with  filth  and  blood,  and  all  their 
wants  unsupplied.  Others  had  had  their  wounds  dressed 
one,  two  or  three  days  before.  Others,  still,  were  under 
the  surgeons'  hands,  receiving  such  care  as  could  be 
given  them  by  men  overburdened  by  the  number  of  their 
patients,  worn  out  by  excessive  and  long-continued  labor, 
without  an  article  of  clothing  to  give  to  any  for  a  change, 
or  an  extra  blanket,  without  bandages  or  dressings,  with 
but  two  ounces  of  cerate  to  three  hundred  men,  with  few 
medicines  and  no  stimulants,  and  with  nothing  but  corn- 
meal  gruel,  hard  bread,  and  bacon,  to  dispense  as  food. ' ' 

Save  for  the  Sanitary  Commission,  there  was  no 
centralized  national  relief  work  carried  on.  State  gov- 
ernments, instead  of  co-operating,  frequently  sent  trans- 
ports for  the  use  only  of  the  men  of  their  own  regiments. 
These  floated  idly  at  their  docks,  while  hundreds  of  un- 
fortunate wounded  from  other  States  lay  waiting  vainly 


EVACUATION  BY  BOAT  AND  TRAIN   55 

for  transportation.  The  State's  right  in  such  a  case 
becomes  a  nation's  wrong. 

In  log  huts,  surrounded  by  fever  breeding  swamps, 
the  wounded  from  the  siege  of  Yorktown,  wearing  still 
their  heavy  uniforms,  died  by  scores,  until  eight  thousand 
of  them  were  brought  away  by  the  Commission's  trans- 
port steamers.  The  earliest  hospital  trains  were  formed 
of  ordinary  freight  cars,  without  any  comfort  or  con- 
venience for  the  men,  who,  without  proper  food  and 
attendants,  often  passed  days  of  fearful  and  unnecessary 
suffering.  Here  was  a  new  field  for  the  Commission's 
activities.  Heavy  elastic  loops  for  litter  handles  were 
fitted  to  the  sides  of  the  cars  to  carry  three  tiers — one 
above  the  other — of  litters,  equipped  with  mattresses, 
pillows  and  quilts;  and  invalid  chairs  were  placed  in 
the  aisles  between.  Pantries  were  filled  with  blankets, 
clothing  and  other  necessary  supplies,  and  food  could  be 
served  hot  or  cold  during  the  exhausting  journey.  Sur- 
geons and  nurses  with  hospital  appliances  accompanied 
each  train.  These  trains,  originally  organized  and  sup- 
ported by  the  Commission,  in  time  were  taken  over  by 
the  Army  Medical  Service,  and  during  the  war  by 
this  means  over  five  hundred  thousand  wounded  were 
transported. 

Though  the  primary  purpose  of  the  Commission  had 
been  the  adoption  and  carrying  out  of  preventive  meas- 
ures, the  scope  of  its  labors  had  immensely  broadened 
under  the  exigencies  of  the  demands  made  upon  it. 
One  of  the  most  important  departments  of  its  work  was 
that  devoted  to  the  collection  and  distribution  of  sup- 
plies. This  feature  in  war  relief  measures  predominates 
in  the  public  mind  over  others  in  importance,  as  it 
is  in  this  particular  line  of  aid  that  the  people  them- 
selves are  best  able  to  play  an  active  part.  In  all  wars 
governments  are  forced  to  devote  their  chief  energies 
and  resources  to  the  maintenance  of  the  efficiency  of  the 
fighting  forces,  and  this  tends  to  leave  the  care  of 


56  UNDER  THE  RED  CROSS  FLAG 

the  sick  and  wounded  man  to  the  particular  charge  of 
the  people.  He  is  inevitably  of  secondary  importance 
to  the  State.  Because  of  this  and  because  popular  sym- 
pathy and  public  patriotism  seek  some  method  for  prac- 
tical expression,  the  incapacitated  soldier  depends  largely 
upon  volunteer  aid. 

During  the  Civil  "War,  in  the  North  some  seven  thou- 
sand Soldiers'  Aid  Societies  were  organized,  and  the 
estimated  value  of  the  supplies  collected  by  them 
amounted  to  over  fifteen  millions  of  dollars.  No  pro- 
vision was  made  by  the  Government  for  hospital  gar- 
ments, and  practically  none  for  sick  diet,  absolutely  neces- 
sary for  hospital  use. 

We  have,  on  the  one  hand,  the  need  of  assistance, 
and,  on  the  other,  the  irresistible  and  energetic  desire 
of  the  people  to  give  it.  Hence,  the  great  importance 
of  centralized  organization  to  bring  together  the  need 
and  the  assistance,  to  direct  energy,  prevent  waste  and 
control  enthusiasm.  The  public  had  to  be  made  to  realize 
the  impossibility  of  sending  supplies  to  individual  sol- 
diers, to  be  guided  away  from  a  zeal  that  made  hundreds 
of  mysterious  headgears,  called  ' '  Havelocks, ' '  and  pro- 
vided impossible  delicacies  for  the  sick. 

The  Sanitary  Commission  officers  and  women  rep- 
resentatives of  the  Soldiers'  Aid  Societies  met  in  con- 
ference in  Washington  and  wisely  decided  that  all  sup- 
plies should  go  into  the  Commission  stock  for  distribution 
where  most  needed.  Bi-weekly  bulletins  were  issued,  giv- 
ing particulars  as  to  needs,  and  reports  as  to  distribution 
of  supplies  in  letters  from  the  agents  with  the  armies  in 
the  field.  When  scurvy  made  its  appearance,  potato  and 
onion  circulars  were  issued,  and  thousands  of  barrels  of 
these  were  donated  to  the  Commission  by  the  farmers  of 
the  country. 

Bazaars  of  modern  times  sink  into  insignificance 
before  the  great  sanitary  fairs,  that  raised  nearly  three 
millions  of  dollars.  To  these  everyone  poured  out  their 


CALIFORNIA  SAVES  THE  DAY  57 

gifts.  The  fanner  brought  his  harvest,  the  manufacturer 
and  the  machinist  the  product  of  the  mills  and  the  shops, 
the  artist  or  the  artisan  his  handicraft.  Everyone  gave 
and  everyone  bought  until  there  is  no  wonder  that  a 
single  bazaar  yielded  a  million  of  dollars. 

At  first  the  maintenance  of  its  varied  activities 
brought  large  demands  upon  the  limited  treasury  of  the 
Commission,  and  in  October,  1862,  failure  loomed  before 
it  for  lack  of  funds  to  carry  on  its  work.  Just  at  this 
critical  moment  California  saved  the  day  with  a  totally 
unexpected  contribution  of  one  hundred  thousand  dol- 
lars. With  this  the  tide  turned,  and  from  then  on  funds 
were  never  wanting.  California  and  the  other  Pacific 
States  in  selecting  the  far  away  Commission  for  their 
almoner,  had  set  an  example.  In  writing  of  the  value  of 
this  aid  the  historian  of  the  Sanitary  Commission  dwells 
on  the  fact  of  its  example : 

"The  immense  national  advantage  in  a  struggle  for 
unity,  of  a  common  enterprise  of  humanity  around  which 
the  homes  of  the  country  could  rally,  adding  thus  the 
united  strength  of  the  domestic  feeling  of  the  American 
people  to  its  political  and  military  power  in  the  council 
and  the  field — would  have  been  lost,  if  the  United  States 
Sanitary  Com  mission  had  not  succeeded.  It  was  a  des- 
perate enterprise  to  attempt  to  unite  by  humane  feeling 
what  was  so  disunited  by  distance  and  the  disintegrating 
tendencies  of  local  pride  and  interest,  as  the  different 
States  and  communities  of  so  broad  a  country.  Neither 
the  excellency  of  the  plan,  nor  the  ability  of  its  adminis- 
tration, could  have  succeeded  against  the  force  of 
sectional  pride  and  independence,  and  the  truly  Ameri- 
can love  of  multiplying  local  associations.  Desperate 
efforts  to  throw  off  the  yoke  of  the  United  States  Sanitary 
Commission  would  constantly  have  been  made  by  its 
already  half-independent  branches,  and  would  have 
succeeded.  Coaxing  and  compromising  and  humoring 
did  wonders  to  bring  about  unity  and  co-operation.  And 


58     UNDER  THE  RED  CROSS  FLAG 

we  did  not  hesitate  to  say  that  the  cash  resources  of  the 
Commission,  which  alone  commanded  and  utilized  its 
supplies,  were  mainly  due  to  the  largeness,  the  constancy, 
the  persistency  of  the  contributions  from  California  and 
the  Pacific  coast, — Nevada,  Oregon,  Idaho,  and  the  Sand- 
wich Islands — so  that  to  California  more  than  to  any 
State  in  the  Union  is  really  due  the  growth,  usefulness, 
success,  the  national  reputation  of  the  United  States 
Sanitary  Commission." 

The  measures  used  to  raise  the  large  funds  that  con- 
tinued to  be  forwarded  to  the  Commission  from  the  Far 
West  were  both  ingenious  and  amusing.  The  entire 
young  community  bubbled  over  with  enthusiasm  and 
possibly  with  something  of  the  generous  spirit  of  the 
lucky  gambler.  Articles  were  sold  at  auction — a  pullet, 
a  nugget  of  gold,  a  box  of  strawberries  followed  each 
other  and  fell  to  the  highest  bidder  under  the  hammer. 
A  train's  delay  and  an  energetic  sportsman  resulted  in 
the  bagging  of  a  single  hare,  which  was  carried  through 
the  twenty  cars  and  sold  over  and  over  again  until  the 
engine  was  reached,  with  $157  for  the  cause. 

Nevada  equalled  California  in  the  originality  of  her 
schemes.  To  settle  a  bet  a  defeated  candidate  for  mayor 
of  the  little  two-year-old  town  of  Austin  carried  a  sack 
of  flour  to  a  neighboring  village.  Preceded  by  a  band 
of  music  in  a  wagon,  accompanied  by  his  small  son  in 
full  uniform  and  followed  by  a  lively  crowd  of  miners 
and  other  citizens,  the  defeated  candidate  paid  his  bet, 
and  seizing  the  opportunity  to  utilize  the  amused  and 
good-natured  mob  he  proposed  to  sell  the  sack  at  auction. 
The  crowd  entered  into  his  plan  with  enthusiasm  and 
with  the  lavish  hand  of  the  gold  miner.  Soon  five  thou- 
sand dollars  were  secured ;  but  the  bag  had  not  yet  com- 
pleted its  work,  for,  delighted  with  his  success,  the  would- 
be  mayor  continued  with  his  bag  of  flour  a  successful 
journey  from  place  to  place  throughout  the  State.  It 
went  to  San  Francisco,  turned  up  in  New  York,  and 


DISTRIBUTION  OF  SUPPLIES  59 

journeyed  on  with  its  indefatigable  promoter  to  the  fair 
at  St.  Louis.  No  less  than  forty  thousand  dollars  did  this 
one  bag  of  flour  gain  for  the  Commission's  treasury.  Of 
the  total  fund  of  five  million  dollars,  the  Pacific  Coast 
gave  one  and  a  quarter  million.  The  Sanitary  Fairs 
raised  $2,736,000,  leaving  about  $700,000,  received  from 
all  other  sources. 

The  distribution  of  supplies  was  divided  into  two 
classes  :  general  and  special.  The  general  distribution 
was  for  the  benefit  of  general  field  and  regimental  hos- 
pitals and  for  the  men  in  camp  or  on  the  march.  Special 
distribution  included  that  for  disabled  and  discharged 
soldiers  and  paroled  prisoners.  The  wise  plan  was  to 
supplement,  not  supplant,  the  Army  Medical  Service. 
Regulations  required  that  the  need  must  be  apparent, 
and  surgeons  were  called  upon  to  explain  why  it  existed, 
so  that  their  responsibility  was  emphasized  and  waste- 
ful measures  prevented.  The  Commission  did  not  encour- 
age well-meaning  people  and  others  who  sought  self- 
exploitation  or  personal  thanks  entering  into  the  hospi- 
tals to  the  annoyance  of  those  in  charge  and  the  inter- 
ference with  proper  discipline.  It  did  not  enter  into  the 
cry  against  Army  "  red  tape,"  realizing  that  without 
the  upholding  of  government  discipline  and  responsi- 
bility the  whole  fabric  would  fall  into  ruin. 

At  ten  collecting  depots  stationed  in  ten  large  cities 
all  supplies  were  sorted,  repacked  and  stored  to  replen- 
ish the  stock  of  the  two  large  distributing  warehouses 
at  the  headquarters  of  the  armies — Washington  and 
Louisville.  A  careful  system  of  accountability  was 
carried  on  at  both  receiving  and  distributing  stations. 
After  such  great  battles  as  those  of  Antietam,  Gettys- 
burg, and  the  Campaign  of  the  Wilderness,  the  prompt 
filling  of  requisitions  by  the  distributing  stations  was  of 
immense  value  in  the  relief  of  the  wounded  men.  The 
commanding  generals  were  full  of  appreciation  of  the 


60  UNDER  THE  RED  CROSS  FLAG 

service  rendered  and  General  Grant  expressed  his  appre- 
ciation indirectly  in  an  order  issued  in  1863 : 

HEADQUARTERS    DEPARTMENT    OF    THE    TENNESSEE, 

Vicksburg,  Miss.,  Sept.  28,  1863. 
Commanding  Officer,  Cairo,  111.: 

Sir. — Direct  the  Post  Quartermaster  at  Cairo  to  call  upon 
the  U.  S.  Sanitary  agent  at  your  place,  and  see  exactly  what 
buildings  they  require  to  be  erected  for  their  charitable  and 
humane  purposes. 

The  Commission  has  been  of  such  great  service  to  the  coun- 
try, and  at  Cairo  are  doing  so  much  for  this  army  at  this  time, 
that  I  am  disposed  to  extend  their  facilities  for  doing  good  in 
every  way  in  my  power.  You  will  therefore  cause  to  be  put  up, 
at  Government  expense,  suitable  buildings  for  the  Sanitary 
Commission,  connecting  those  they  already  have,  and  also  put 
up  for  them  necessary  outbuildings. 

(Signed)     U.  S.  GRANT, 

Major  General. 

Because  of  its  employment  of  paid  agents,  the  Com- 
mission had  to  meet  the  same  criticism  that  is  sometimes 
experienced  by  the  Red  Cross  to-day.  This  criticism 
arises,  as  do  so  many  others,  from  the  ignorance  of  real 
conditions  and  no  better  answer  can  be  made  to  the 
critics  of  then  and  of  to-day  than  that  made  in  Mr. 
Stiles'  "History  of  the  Sanitary  Commission:" 

"  It  would  hardly  seem  necessary  to  say  one  word 
upon  the  superior  effectiveness,  and  the  greater  real 
cheapness,  of  paid  labor  in  the  kind  of  work  in  which 
the  Commission  was  engaged  during  the  war,  had  not  its 
policy  in  this  matter  been  not  only  questioned,  but 
vehemently  assailed  by  many  well-meaning  persons. 
Nothing  could  well  be  more  lofty,  than  the  scorn  which 
was  so  often  expressed  during  the  war  for  those  who 
would  consent  to  receive  money  for  their  services  in 
such  a  mission  of  mercy  as  this,  but  the  Commission  felt 
at  the  outset,  and  experience  soon  confirmed  it  in  its 
opinion,  that  it  had  entered  upon  a  work  altogether  too 
full  of  toil,  drudgery,  and  repulsive  reality  to  be  upheld 
by  any  mere  sentimental  pity  or  sympathy  for  the  poor 
soldier.  Its  object  was  to  help  the  suffering  by  the  best 


EMPLOYMENT  OF  PAID  AGENTS         61 

practical  methods  it  could  discover,  not  to  give  an  oppor- 
tunity for  sympathizing  friends  at  home  to  relieve  their 
overburdened  hearts  by  spending  a  few  weeks  in  the 
army  hospitals  in  busy  yet  fruitless  attempts  to  aid  him. 
The  work  of  relieving  the  soldier  was  found  in  practice 
to  be  a  very  hard,  continuous  and  prosaic  one.  The 
best  mode  of  doing  it  was  not  learned  by  inspiration,  but 
was  to  be  acquired  only  by  patient  and  long-continued 
watchfulness  and  labor.  No  man  was  fit  for  it  who  was 
not  moved  to  undertake  it  by  a  principle  of  duty,  but 
it  was  a  novel  idea  that  that  duty  was  less  conscientiously 
performed,  and  its  lofty  nature  degraded  by  those  who 
received  compensation  for  their  services.  The  great 
object  which  the  Commission  had  in  view  of  course  was 
to  secure  the  best  services  of  the  best  men.  The  whole 
practice  of  the  military  service  as  well  as  that  of  every 
association  or  individual  having  work  to  do,  and  needing 
the  ihelp  of  agents  to  do  it,  was  opposed  to  the  assump- 
tion that  any  man's  zeal  and  devotion  in  the  perform- 
ance of  any  duty  is  unfavorably  affected  by  his  receiv- 
ing a  salary.  Why  the  rule  heretofore  universally  recog- 
nized, that  paid  services  have  always  been  more  steady, 
regular  and  abundant  in  results  than  those  of  mere 
volunteers,  should  be  reversed  in  the  matter  of  army 
relief,  it  is  difficult  to  say." 

The  experience  of  our  Civil  War;  in  fact,  of  all 
serious  wars,  proves  that  prompt  alleviation  of  human 
suffering  upon  the  battlefield  where  a  large  number  are 
wounded  is  a  problem  almost  impossible  of  solution. 
The  long  continuation  of  the  fighting,  the  difficulty  under 
such  conditions  of  rescuing  the  wounded,  the  distance 
from  the  base  of  supplies,  the  demand  upon  the  limited 
number  of  surgeons  and  attendants,  present  the  gravest 
obstacles  to  immediate  aid.  After  the  battle  of  Antietam 
on  September  17,  1862,  nearly  ten  thousand  wounded 
Federal  soldiers  and  a  large  number  of  the  defeated 
Confederates  remained  to  be  cared  for.  Though  every 


62  UNDER  THE  RED  CROSS  FLAG 

building — church,  house  and  even  barn — was  filled  with 
the  wounded,  there  was  not  place  enough;  and  shelter- 
less hundreds  lay  in  the  woods  and  open  fields.  To  the 
army  surgeons  were  added  scores  of  civilian  medical  men ; 
but  the  need  far  exceeded  the  supply,  and  seriously 
wounded  men  waited  days  before  receiving  surgical  care. 

The  lack  of  transportation  facilities  prevented  the 
medical  supplies  already  at  Baltimore  being  shipped, 
though  a  day's  delay  meant  to  many  a  man  life  or  death. 
The  Sanitary  Commission,  perceiving  this  difficulty,  had 
secured  its  own  large  wagons  and  by  means  of  their  use 
the  first  medical  supplies  were  hurried  to  the  front,  to 
be  followed  by  a  daily  service.  Had  it  not  been  for  this 
work  of  the  Commission,  even  chloroform,  opiates  and 
surgical  instruments  would  have  been  wanting;  and  by 
this  means  thousands  of  blankets  and  clothing  were  like- 
wise provided. 

All  transportation  facilities  were  in  the  Quartermas- 
ter Department's  hands,  thus  leaving  the  medical  ser- 
vice without  any  means  of  its  own  to  forward  its  sup- 
plies. Before  the  battle  of  Perryville  even  surgeons 
were  prevented  from  carrying  supplies,  and  the  pitiful 
condition  of  the  twenty-five  hundred  wounded  can  be 
imagined.  Three  large  army  wagons  and  twenty-one 
ambulances  were  hastily  filled  from  the  Commission's 
warehouse  at  Louisville  and  rushed  to  the  scene  of  the 
conflict,  where  the  suffering  and  agony  of  the  men  were 
indescribable. 

Herald  of  the  spirit  of  the  Red  Cross,  the  Sanitary 
Commission  recognized  neither  friend  nor  foe  in  the 
wounded  man,  for  after  Gettysburg  supplies  were  freely 
offered  to  the  Confederate  surgeons,  and  side  by  side 
the  Blue  and  the  Gray  cared  for  the  sick  and  wounded 
of  both  armies.  To  provide  aid  at  the  front,  field  relief 
corps  were  organized,  and  to  supplement  these,  auxiliary 
relief  corps  for  the  care  of  the  wounded  left  behind  or 
sent  to  hospitals. 


HOSPITAL  DIRECTORY  63 

It  was  probably  this  latter  corps  that  first  adopted 
the  insignia  of  the  Geneva  cross,  not  in  color,  but  in  form, 
cut  in  a  silver  badge.  At  the  conclusion  of  the  war  the 
corps  presented  to  its  chief,  Mr.  Frank  B.  F.  Fay,  a 
large  silver  cross  suspended  in  a  laurel  wreath  of  carved 
oak.  This  a  few  years  ago  was  presented  to  the  American 
Bed  Cross  by  Mr.  Fay's  son. 

The  first  duty  undertaken  by  the  Commissary  Relief 
Corps  was  the  organization  of  feeding  stations  along 
the  routes  for  the  evacuation  of  the  wounded.  Freder- 
icksburg,  after  the  battle  of  the  Wilderness,  with  its 
twenty  thousand  wounded,  like  Castiglione  after  Sol- 
ferino,  was  converted  into  one  vast  hospital.  Totally 
unprepared  for  such  an  influx  of  wounded,  only  the  pres- 
ence of  this  trained  and  experienced  corps,  with  the  sup- 
plies transported  to  the  city  by  the  forty  four-horse 
wagons  of  the  Commission,  brought  any  relief  to  this 
scene  of  awful  confusion  and  misery.  Death  took 
its  toll  among  these  faithful  laborers,  and  on  the  altar 
of  sacrifice  no  nobler  lives  were  offered  up. 

The  labors  of  the  Commission  did  not  end  with  the 
care  of  the  sick  and  wounded.  Under  a  special  relief 
service,  soldiers'  homes  and  convalescent  camps  aided  the 
discharged  men,  furnished  temporary  food  and  lodg- 
ings, received  their  papers  of  discharge  and  secured  their 
pay,  provided  transportation  to  their  homes;  in  fact, 
constituted  itself  the  faithful,  conscientious  guardian  of 
the  soldier  incapacitated  for  active  duty. 

By  establishing  a  hospital  directory  another  impor- 
tant humanitarian  act  was  accomplished.  In  the  con- 
stant changes  of  the  moving  armies  it  was  not  possible 
for  a  soldier's  family  or  friends  to  keep  in  touch  with 
him.  Weeks  passed  without  information,  and  every 
battle  brought  renewed  anxiety  to  those  at  home.  In- 
quiries by  the  thousands  poured  in  upon  the  Commis- 
sion, and  these  led  to  the  formation  of  a  hospital  direc- 
tory, in  whose  four  offices  were  registered  the  complete 


64  UNDER  THE  RED  CROSS  FLAG 

lists  of  over  six  hundred  thousand  men  in  the  two  hun- 
dred and  thirty-three  army  hospitals,  with  reports  as  to 
their  conditions  obtained  through  the  medical  depart- 
ment. From  this  directory  the  constant  stream  of 
anxious  inquiries  were  answered. 

Though,  the  Sanitary  Commission  was  the  great  volun- 
teer relief  agency  of  the  Civil  War,  there  was  organized 
by  the  Young  Men's  Christian  Association  a  Christian 
Commission,  which,  while  it  also  ministered  to  the  sick 
and  wounded,  had  for  its  primary  purpose  the  spiritual 
and  moral  welfare  of  the  soldiers.  The  study  of  the 
remarkable  achievement  of  the  Sanitary  Commission  lead 
to  certain  inevitable  conclusions :  first,  that  volunteer  aid 
to  the  sick  and  wounded  in  war  is  absolutely  essential; 
second,  that  unless,  as  was  done  during  the  Civil  War, 
the  selfish  desire  to  create  independent  relief  organiza- 
tions is  suppressed  for  the  sake  of  true  efficiency,  there 
will  result  hopeless  confusion,  fruitless  efforts  and  untold 
suffering  for  the  victims  of  such  a  misguided  and  egoistic 
system  of  relief.  The  work  of  the  Sanitary  Commission 
shines  out  amidst  the  darkness  and  misery  of  war,  a 
warning  against  failure  and  a  guide  to  success. 


CHAPTER  IV 

WOMEN  IN  WAR.  MISS  DOROTHEA  DIX.  MISS  CLARA 
BARTON.  "  MOTHER  BICKERDYKE."  HELP  FOR  THE 
ENEMIES'  WOUNDED.  A  VIVANDIERE.  MRS.  BAR- 
LOW'S STORY.  RELIEF  WORK  IN  THE  CONFEDERACY. 
LACK  OF  RECORDS.  SOLDIERS'  AID  SOCIETIES.  HOS- 
PITALS. CAPTAIN  SALLIE  TOMPKINS.  PRIVATIONS 
AND  INVENTIONS  OF  THE  WOMEN  OF  THE  SOUTH. 
AN  INCIDENT  IN  THE  TAKING  OF  COLUMBIA. 

THE  successful  achievement  of  all  great  organizations 
is  almost  invariably  accomplished  by  the  well-system- 
atized, directed  and  controlled  labors  of  the  many.  So 
it  was  with  the  Sanitary  Commission.  There  were  those 
whose  names  shone  out  more  brightly  than  the  others  in 
its  myriad  workers;  executive  ability  fell  into  places  of 
responsibility;  training  and  experience  brought  their 
share  in  the  glory.  There  were  others  who  by  reason  of 
fortunate  chance,  though  not  connected  with  its  service, 
became  publicly  recognized;  and  still  others  rightfully 
wore  the  halo  of  saints,  having  given  their  lives  for  their 
suffering  fellow-men.  But  back  of  all  these,  in  the  quiet 
of  the  home,  in  the  busy  turmoil  of  the  great  supply 
depots,  and  by  the  bedsides  of  the  sick,  the  wounded  and 
the  dying,  were  an  army  of  unselfish,  self-sacrificing  men 
and  women  whose  names  mark  no  pages  of  history  nor 
are  lettered  forth  on  any  monuments  of  marble. 

Women  have  been  called  the  greatest  victims  of  war, 
for  day  by  day  they  bear  the  heartbreaking  burden  of 
anxiety  for  those  they  love.  Busily  they  ply  their  ner- 
vous fingers  or  fill  their  active  brains  with  plans  for 
help  so  that  there  remains  no  time  to  let  their  imagina- 
tion picture  the  fate  of  the  well  loved  soldiers  at  the 
front.  To  them  must  fall  the  greatest  share  of  the  vol- 
unteer aid  in  time  of  war,  and  with  devotion,  self-sacri- 
5  66 


66  UNDER  THE  RED  CROSS  FLAG 

fice  and  courage  did  the  women  of  the  North  and  the 
women  of  the  South  fulfill  this  mission  during  our  own 
great  civil  strife.  No  history  of  our  American  Red  Cross 
can  be  complete  without  some  reference  to  those  who, 
though  they  labored  before  any  flag  of  the  Red  Cross 
proclaimed  its  merciful  services  in  the  United  States, 
yet  were  the  pioneers  in  its  duties. 

In  a  record  of  "  Woman's  Work  in  the  Civil  War," 
published  in  1867,  the  author  says:  "Among  all  the 
women  who  devoted  themselves  with  untiring  energy  and 
gave  talents  of  the  highest  order  to  the  work  of  caring 
for  our  soldiers  during  the  Civil  War  the  name  of 
Dorothea  L.  Dix  will  always  take  the  first  rank."  Miss 
Dix,  the  daughter  of  a  Worcester  physician,  while  main- 
taining a  school  for  girls  in  Boston,  became  interested  in 
prison  work,  in  poor-houses  and  insane  asylum  reforms. 
Her  labors  led  her  into  many  States  and  to  the  very 
doors  of  Congress  for  assistance,  so  that  already  she  was 
recognized  as  a  woman  of  marked  ability  and  experience. 
The  outbreak  of  the  war  brought  her  to  Washington, 
where  her  first  duty  was  the  nursing  of  some  wounded 
soldiers,  victims  of  the  Baltimore  attack.  The  ability 
and  practical  experience  of  Miss  Dix  was  such  that  when 
selected  by  the  Secretary  of  War  as  ' '  Superintendent  of 
Female  Nurses, ' '  the  choice  was  universally  commended. 
The  appointment  and  approval  of  such  nurses  were 
placed  in  her  .hands.  There  existed  no  professional 
training  as  a  standard,  and  it  is  interesting  and  somewhat 
amusing  to  read  certain  qualifications  required  by  Miss 
Dix,  such  as  maturity  in  years,  plainness  in  dress,  good 
health,  and  an  unquestioned  moral  character.  To  be  by 
no  means  endowed  with  personal  attractions  was  a  fur- 
ther commendation  to  Miss  Dix's  favor.  Her  duties  were 
not  confined  to  the  selection  of  nurses,  for  she  inspected 
hospitals  and,  like  Florence  Nightingale,  had  her  obsta- 
cles to  overcome  because  of  the  surgeons  who  resented 
any  interference.  She  received  no  salary,  maintaining 


MISS  CLARA  BARTON  67 

from  her  private  means  ambulances,  rest  homes  for  nurses 
and  soldiers,  and  depots  of  supplies. 

In  spite  of  many  difficulties,  due  largely  to  the  fact 
that  her  position  was  one  without  precedent  and  which 
lacked  authority  to  enforce  obedience,  Miss  Dix  accom- 
plished a  great  work.  She  gave  herself,  heart  and  soul, 
to  her  duties,  without  thought  of  name  or  fame,  and  no 
woman  during  the  Civil  War  more  fully  deserved  the 
gratitude  of  her  fellow  citizens. 

Among  the  many  scores  of  women  whose  names  are 
associated  with  the  care  of  the  sick  and  wounded  is  that 
of  Miss  Clara  Barton.  As  Miss  Barton  was  not  con- 
nected with  either  the  Sanitary  or  the  Christian  Commis- 
sion during  the  war,  and  as  in  the  one  hundred  and 
twenty-eight  volumes  of  the  Civil  War  Eeports  in  the 
War  Department  her  name  occurs  only  once,  in  connec- 
tion with  a  letter  written  about  prisoners  at  Annapolis, 
we  turn  to  an  account  written  by  one  of  her  friends. 

Like  Miss  Dix,  she  was  a  native  of  Worcester  County, 
Massachusetts;  and  also,  like  Miss  Dix,  began  her  work 
for  the  soldiers  by  caring  for  the  wounded  of  the  Massa- 
chusetts troops  attacked  on  their  way  through  Balti- 
more. During  the  Peninsular  Campaign,  with  an  ambu- 
lance of  dressings  and  restoratives,  she  met  the  trans- 
ports as  they  landed  with  the  wounded  at  the  wharves  of 
Washington.  In  September,  1862,  she  followed  General 
McClellan's  army,  and  after  the  Battle  of  Antietam  she 
and  her  assistants,  turning  over  the  dressings  to  the  sur- 
geons, devoted  themselves  to  distributing  bread  and 
making  gruel  for  the  wounded.  At  Culpeper  Court 
House,  Fairfax  Station  and  Fredericksburg  her  biog- 
rapher tells  of  her  continuous  efforts  to  relieve  the  suf- 
fering. The  story  is  related  that  after  the  battle  of 
Fredericksburg  among  others  she  cared  for  a  dying  Con- 
federate officer,  who,  in  his  gratitude,  gave  her  valuable 
information  as  to  the  plans  of  the  Southern  forces  to 
entrap  the  Federal  Army  in  that  city  and  advised  her 


68  UNDER  THE  RED  CROSS  FLAG 

against  going  there.  Miss  Barton,  however,  regained 
her  army  corps,  but  it  is  not  related  whether  or  not  she 
passed  on  the  information  she  had  received. 

During  the  siege  of  Fort  Wayne,  in  1863,  with  a  few 
men  to  aid  her  boil  water,  she  washed  the  wounds  of  the 
men  or  prepared  tea,  coffee  and  other  delicacies  for  the 
sick.  After  a  rest  in  1864  in  preparation  for  the  coming 
campaign,  she  returned  to  her  labors.  Towards  the  lat- 
ter part  of  the  war  she  devoted  (her  energies  to  the  trac- 
ing of  missing  soldiers.  To  reimburse  her  for  her  expen- 
ditures in  this  work  Congress,  in  1865,  appropriated  for 
her  benefit  $15,000. 

Though  Miss  Dix's  and  Miss  Barton's  names  are  per- 
haps the  best  remembered  among  those  of  our  Northern 
women,  it  is  difficult  to  pass  by  hundreds  of  others  who 
gave  equally  devoted  and  untiring  service.  There  were 
those  in  the  humbler  walks  of  life,  like  ' '  Mother  Bicker- 
dyke,"  whose  zeal  for  her  wounded  soldiers  was  un- 
bounded and  untrammeled.  Robust,  with  remarkable 
powers  of  endurance,  of  stern  exterior  and  indomitable 
will,  she  was  a  tower  of  strength  to  the  wounded  men. 
She  would  forage  for  them  regardless  of  personal  danger. 
Tenderness  itself  to  "her  boys,"  she  was  a  martinet 
towards  careless  hospital  orderlies,  and  even  surgeons 
were  known  to  quake  before  her  onslaught. 

On  one  occasion,  visiting  one  of  the  wards  containing 
the  badly  wounded  men,  at  eleven  o'clock,  A.M.,  she  found 
that  the  assistant  surgeon  in  charge  of  the  ward,  who 
had  been  out  on  a  drunken  spree  the  night  before,  and 
had  slept  very  late,  had  not  yet  made  out  the  special 
diet  list  for  the  ward,  and  the  men,  faint  and  hungry, 
had  had  no  breakfast.  She  denounced  him  at  once  in  the 
strongest  terms,  and  as  he  came  in,  and  with  an  attempt 
at  jollity  inquired,  "Hoity-toity,  what's  the  matter?" 
she  turned  upon  him  with,  "  Matter  enough,  you  miser- 
able scoundrel !  Here  these  men,  any  one  of  them  worth 
a  thousand  of  you,  are  suffered  to  starve  and  die,  because 


MOTHER  BICKERDYKE  69 

you  want  to  be  off  on  a  drunk !  Pull  off  your  shoulder- 
straps,"  she  continued,  as  he  tried  feebly  to  laugh  off 
her  reproaches,  "pull  off  your  shoulder-straps,  for  you 
shall  not  stay  in  the  army  a  week  longer."  The  surgeon 
still  laughed,  but  he  turned  pale,  for  'he  knew  her  power. 
She  was  as  good  as  her  word.  Within  three  days  she  had 
caused  his  discharge.  He  went  to  headquarters  and 
asked  to  be  reinstated  Major  General  Sherman,  who 
was  then  in  command,  listened  patiently,  and  then 
inquired  who  had  procured  his  discharge.  "I  was  dis- 
charged in  consequence  of  misrepresentation,"  answered 
the  surgeon,  evasively.  "But  who  caused  your  dis- 
charge?" persisted  the  general.  "Why,"  said  the  sur- 
geon, "I  suppose  it  was  that  woman,  that  Mrs.  Bicker- 
dyke."  "Oh!"  said  Sherman.  "Well,  if  it  was  she, 
I  can  do  nothing  for  you.  She  ranks  me. ' ' 

Intense  as  was  the  war  feeling,  it  did  not  blot  out 
humanity.  Georgiana  Woolsey  in  her  graphic  "Three 
Weeks  at  Gettysburg,"  in  many  a  story  shows  that  the 
tenderness  of  the  woman's  nature  was  extended  to  the 
soldier  in  gray  as  well  as  the  one  in  blue.  To  the  sender 
of  a  number  of  boxes  of  supplies  she  wrote:  "You  will 
not,  I  am  sure,  regret  that  those  wretched  men — those 
enemies,  sick  and  in  prison — were  helped  and  cared  for 
through  your  supplies,  though  certainly  they  were 
not  in  your  mind  when  you  packed  your  barrels  and 
boxes. ' '  A  soldier  has  respect  for  a  courageous  foe,  and 
it  is  generally  the  civilian  at  home  who  needs  Lord 
Roberts'  fine  advice:  "Do  not  kill  Krueger  with  your 
tongues." 

"  'Have  you  friends  in  the  army,  madam?'  a  rebel 
soldier,  lying  on  the  floor  of  the  car,  said  to  me,  as  I 
gave  him  some  milk.  'Yes,  my  brother  is  on  an  officer's 
staff.'  'I  thought  so,  ma'am.  You  can  always  tell; 
when  people  are  good  to  soldiers  they  are  sure  to  have 
friends  in  the  army.'  'We  are  rebels,  you  know,  ma'am/ 
another  said.  '  Do  you  treat  rebels  so  ?'  It  was  strange 


70          UNDER  THE  RED  CROSS  FLAG 

to  see  the  good  brotherly  feeling  come  over  the  soldiers, 
our  own  and  the  rebels,  when  side  by  side  they  lay  in 
our  tents.  'Hullo,  boys!  this  is  the  pleasantest  way  to 
meet,  isn't  it?  "We  are  better  friends  when  we  are  as  close 
as  this  than  a  little  farther  off.'  And  then  they  would 
go  over  the  battles  together.  '"We  were  here,'  and  'you 
were  there/  in  the  friendliest  way." 

Another  interesting  and  amusing  story  told  by  Miss 
Woolsey  rather  reflects  on  the  Gettysburg  farmer,  but 
shows  how  the  Southern  wounded  were  also  cared  for  in 
her  camp : 

"Few  good  things  can  be  said  of  the  Gettysburg 
farmers,  and  I  only  use  Scripture  language  in  calling 
them  'evil  beasts.'  One  of  this  kind  came  creeping  into 
our  camp  three  weeks  after  tha  battle.  He  lived  five 
miles  only  from  the  town,  and  had  'never  seen  a  rebel.' 
He  heard  we  had  some  of  them,  and  had  come  down  to  see 
them.  'Boys,'  we  said, — marching  him  into  the  tent 
which  happened  to  be  full  of  rebels  that  day,  waiting  for 
the  train, — 'Boys,  here's  a  man  who  never  saw  a  rebel 
in  his  life,  and  wants  to  look  at  you ; '  and  there  he  stood 
with  his  mouth  wide  open,  and  there  they  lay  in  rows, 
laughing  at  him,  stupid  old  Dutchman.  'And  why 
haven't  you  seen  a  rebel?'  One  of  us  said,  'why  didn't 
you  take  your  gun  and  help  to  drive  them  out  of  your 
town?'  'A  feller  might 'er  got  hit!' — which  reply  was 
quite  too  much  for  the  rebels ;  they  roared  with  laughter 
at  him,  up  and  down  the  tent." 

Another  type  of  woman  was  Annie  Etheridge,  a 
vivandiere,  or  fille  du  regiment.  Like  an  Amazon,  she 
rode  in  the  midst  of  the  shot  and  shell,  with  utter  disre- 
gard of  danger,  that  she  might  find  and  aid  the  wounded ; 
she  encouraged  the  men  in  the  trenches  and  led  back 
many  a  straggling  deserter  to  the  battle  line. 

Then  there  were  those  noble  women — many  of  them — 
who,  like  Mrs.  Barlow,  gave  up  their  lives  in  the  hospital 
service.  During  the  hearings  before  the  Senate  Com- 


MRS.  BARLOW'S  STORY  71 

mittee  for  the  Memorial  to  the  Women  of  the  Civil  War, 
Captain  James  A.  Scrymser  gave  the  simple  story  of  her 
short  married  life.  He  and  his  friend,  Frank  Barlow, 
had  agreed  if  civil  war  arose  they  would  go.  On 
President  Lincoln's  call  for  volunteers  in  April,  1861, 
they  met  at  Delmonico's,  one  of  the  recruiting  offices: 

''So  upstairs  we  went  and  enlisted.  As  Barlow  left 
the  armory  he  said,  '  I  am  going  uptown  to  be  married. ' 

"The  next  morning  when  the  regiment  was  paraded 
on  Union  Square  I  saw  a  handsome  woman  on  the  curb- 
stone in  tears.  Barlow  beckoned  to  me  and  said,  'Jim, 
that  is  the  bride. ' 

"When  the  regiment  marched  she  took  his  arm  and 
marched  with  it  down  Broadway.  Finally  we  brought 
up  in  Washington  and  encamped  in  Franklin  Square  on 
Fourteenth  Street.  Barlow  had  been  made  a  captain 
and  I  was  a  lieutenant.  Barlow  at  that  time  did  not 
look  to  be  over  eighteen  years  of  age.  In  fact,  he  was 
known  as  the  boy  general  in  the  army.  One  Sunday 
morning  the  regiment  having  left  the  camp,  I  was  in 
charge  of  the  camp  grounds. 

"I  heard  a  lady  talking  outside  the  guardhouse  to 
one  of  the  sentries.  I  heard  a  woman's  voice  say,  'I  will 
come  in.'  The  answer  was,  'No,  you  can  not  come  in.' 
She  said,  '  I  will  come  in ;  I  am  the  wife  of  Captain  Bar- 
low.' She  was  met  with  the  reply,  'No,  you  don't;  that 
boy  is  no  husband  of  yours.' 

' '  The  next  time  I  saw  Mrs.  Barlow  was  on  the  morn- 
ing of  the  battle  of  Antietam,  the  17th  of  September, 
1862.  I  was  riding  through  what  was  known  as  the  east 
woods,  east  of  the  Dunkard  Church,  which  was  then 
about  the  centre  of  the  battle,  and  there  I  found  this 
lone  woman.  I  do  not  suppose  there  was  another  woman 
within  five  miles.  I  said,  'Mrs.  Barlow,  what  are  you 
doing  here?'  She  replied,  'You  know,  I  belong  to  the 
Christian  Commission  and  I  left  Baltimore  yesterday 
and  was  detailed  for  service  at  Hagerstown,  and  last 


72  UNDER  THE  RED  CROSS  FLAG 

night  I  heard  there  was  going  to  be  a  fight  down  here 
and  so  here  I  am.'  I  said,  'Did  you  leave  Hagerstown 
last  night?'  She  answered,  'Yes;  and  I  have  tramped 
seventeen  miles,  and  here  I  am,  and  this  is  my  only 
escort, '  pointing  to  a  negro  with  a  wheelbarrow,  a  trunk, 
and  a  handbox. 

' '  I  had  seen  a  field  hospital  being  organized  down  in 
a  valley,  so  I  took  Mrs.  Barlow  there  and  left  her  in 
charge  of  the  surgeons.  About  noon  I  was  out  at  the 
front  and  saw  Barlow  brought  in  on  a  stretcher.  I 
directed  that  he  be  taken  down  to  the  field  hospital,  as  I 
knew  his  wife  was  there.  In  a  few  minutes  she  was 
alongside  of  him  and  she  saved  his  life  by  careful 
nursing. 

"Again  at  the  battle  of  Gettysburg,  in  July,  1863, 
Barlow  was  terribly  wounded  and  fell  within  the  enemy's 
lines.  General  Early  and  General  Gordon  came  along 
and  when  they  saw  Barlow,  General  Gordon  said,  'Here 
is  a  Yankee  officer,  perhaps  we  can  do  something  for 
him.'  General  Early  remarked,  'No,  he  is  too  far  gone; 
we  can  not  do  anything  for  him. '  General  Gordon  then 
got  down  and  gave  Barlow  a  drink;  whereupon  Barlow 
raised  himself  on  his  elbow  and  said,  '  General  Early,  I 
will  live  to  whip  you  yet. '  Barlow  gave  him  a  package 
saying,  'Here  are  some  letters  from  my  wife;  if  I  die, 
destroy  them ;  if  I  live,  keep  them  and  give  them  to  me. ' ' 

"Mrs.  Barlow  was  with  General  Hancock's  com- 
mand fourteen  miles  away.  Hancock's  command  did  not 
reach  Gettysburg  until  the  afternoon.  She  soon  heard 
that  Barlow  had  fallen  wounded  within  the  enemy's 
lines  and  appealed  to  General  Hancock  for  permission  to 
go  through  to  care  for  him.  He  refused,  saying,  'No, 
Madam;  for  military  reasons  you  can  not  pass  through 
the  lines.'  However,  after  dark,  she  went  down  to  the 
picket  lines,  gathered  up  her  skirts  and  ran  over  to  the 
enemy's  lines.  She  said  both  sides  fired  on  her.  As  soon 


MRS.  BARLOW'S  STORY  73 

as  she  entered  the  enemy 's  lines  she  was  treated  with  the 
utmost  courtesy,  taken  to  the  hospital  and  she  again 
nursed  Barlow  and  again  saved  his  life. 

"I  speak  of  this  lady  simply  as  one  of  a  type  of 
which  there  were  thousands,  who  would  have  shown  the 
same  courage  and  devotion  under  like  circumstances. 

"At  the  battle  of  the  Wilderness,  Barlow  fulfilled 
his  threat  when  he  said  he  would  whip  General  Early. 
He  captured  half  of  General  Early 's  command  and  six- 
teen of  his  guns,  the  only  redeeming  feature  of  that 
battle.  He  was  again  wounded  and  was  placed  upon  a 
steamer  and  sent  to  Washington,  and  on  that  steamer 
his  guardian  angel,  Mrs.  Barlow,  reappeared.  Again 
she  nursed  him  and  again  saved  his  life.  Mrs.  Barlow 
died  of  camp  fever  in  1864.  Barlow  entered  the  ser- 
vice as  a  private  and  retired  as  a  major  general.  After- 
wards he  was  elected  Secretary  of  State  and  Attorney- 
General  of  the  State  of  New  York.  A  few  days  before  his 
death — I  think  it  was  in  1896 — I  went  to  see  him  and  he 
said  to  me,  'Jim,  do  you  remember  Arabella?  The  time 
will  come  when  the  finest  monument  in  this  country  will 
be  built  to  the  memory  of  the  women  of  the  Civil  War, ' 
and  I  am  here,  gentlemen,  to  ask  that  you  will  appropri- 
ate the  sum  necessary  for  the  site  as  provided  in  this 
bill." 

Such  were  the  types  of  hundreds  of  Northern  women 
who  did  the  Red  Cross  work  of  Civil  War  days.  There 
were  thousands  who  then,  as  now,  because  of  sentiment  or 
egotism,  overwhelmed  officials  and  relief  organizations 
with  their  applications  to  nurse  the  wounded,  with  little 
or  no  comprehension  of  the  hardship,  dangers  and  sacri- 
fices involved. 

The  history  of  war  relief  work  in  the  South  is  not  so 
easily  obtained  as  in  the  North.  It  is  to  be  regretted 
that  there  are  so  few  records  of  the  same  self-sacrificing 
service  given  by  the  women  of  the  Confederacy.  In 
those  days  of  sorrow  for  ' '  The  Lost  Cause, ' '  of  poverty 


74  UNDER  THE  RED  CROSS  FLAG 

from  long  sacrifice,  and  of  slow  reconstruction  there  was 
no  heart  to  gather  up  reports  and  statistics  of  such  work. 
Forty  years  later  by  careful  gleaning  from  newspaper 
files  and  by  long  delayed  written  memoirs  the  women  of 
South  Carolina  gathered  together  such  a  record;  and 
what  was  true  of  the  work  in  the  ' '  Old  Palmetto  State ' ' 
was  doubtless  true  of  all  the  others  in  the  Southern  Con- 
federacy. 

No  central  organization  like  that  of  the  Sanitary 
Commission  existed,  but  innumerable  soldiers'  aid 
societies  sprang  up  everywhere.  A  civilian  army  there 
as  in  the  North  required  not  only  lint,  bandages  and  gar- 
ments for  the  hospitals,  but  home-made  uniforms  for  the 
soldiers  and,  in  their  case,  the  newly  adopted  flag  for  the 
regiments.  Like  the  women  of  the  Eevolution,  the  unpre- 
pared troops  demanded  their  aid,  and  their  clever  inge- 
nuity was  only  equalled  by  their  persistent  courage. 

On  July  4,  1861,  a  proposition  was  laid  before  the 
President  of  the  Confederacy  by  South  Carolinians  lead- 
ing to  the  establishment,  under  volunteers,  of  hospitals 
along  the  line  of  defence,  but  thinking  this  would  impede 
rather  than  aid  the  efficiency  of  the  medical  service  it 
was  not  favorably  received.  On  the  failure  of  the  plan 
it  was  decided  to  establish  at  Charlottesville  a  depository 
to  collect  and  furnish  hospital  stores,  attendants  and 
nourishment.  In  reply  to  an  appeal,  supplies  poured  in 
from  all  sides,  and  from  the  Young  Men's  Christian  As- 
sociation men  nurses  were  sent.  A  wayside  shelter  was 
fitted  up  near  the  railroad  for  the  sick,  which  soon 
located  in  larger  quarters,  half  way  between  the  court- 
house and  the  university  under  the  name  of  "The  Mid- 
way." It  was  the  first  volunteer  hospital  in  Virginia. 
The  success  of  a  plan  at  first  unfavored  led  to  the  estab- 
lishment with  official  approval  of  several  similar  institu- 
tions, some  of  which  took  the  cheerier  name  of  Soldiers' 
Homes.  Temporary  wayside  hospitals  were  occasionally 
maintained  in  tents,  which,  were  it  not  for  matters  of 


CAPTAIN  SALLIE  TOMPKINS  75 

temperature,  are  generally  more  satisfactory  than  the 
old,  unsanitary  buildings  often  selected  in  war  for 
such  a  purpose. 

Captain  Sallie  Tompkins  is  dear  to  the  memory  of 
many  a  Virginia  man  and  woman.  Of  her  service  one 
who  knew  her  writes: 

' '  When  the  gov£rttment  was  removed  to  Richmond 
Miss  Sallie  Tompkins  with  some  other  gentlewomen  of 
wealth  and  standing  opened  the  Robinson  Hospital  on 
Main  Street,  of  which  she  took  charge  using  her  own 
servants  and  her  own  means  to  run  it — until  those  means 
were  wholly  exhausted.  The  servants  remained  faithful 
until  Richmond  was  evacuated.  'As  medicines  were  con- 
trabrand  of  war,  her  treatment, '  says  her  nephew, '  for  all 
diseases  was  air,  light,  turpentine  and  whiskey,  all  home 
products.  If  these  failed,  her  panacea  was  prayer  and 
the  Bible.  The  percentage  of  recoveries  holds  its  own 
with  the  most  scientific  treatment  of  to-day.  When  her 
private  fortune  was  spent,  the  Confederate  War  Office 
bestowed  upon  her  a  captain's  commission  so  that  she 
could  draw  supplies  from  the  Commissary  Department. 
This  commission  can  be  seen  in  the  Confederate  Museum, 
Richmond.  Many  of  the  negroes  from  Poplar  Grove, 
her  former  home  in  Mathews  County,  Virginia,  had  been 
freed  and  provided  for  during  their  natural  lives. '  Miss 
Tompkins  is  now  an  inmate  of  the  Confederate  Women 's 
Home,  Richmond,  having  spent  her  originally  large  for- 
tune in  active  beneficence.  She  cannot  be  canonized  in 
the  Episcopal  Church  but  only  saints  can  do  the  work 
she  did. 

"Well  organized  hospitals  in  times  of  peace  are  sad 
places,  but  words  cannot  fitly  paint  the  horrors  of  even 
the  best  during  war  time,  especially  when  famine  was 
added  to  the  wounds,  bruises,  and  gangrened  sores  of 
the  patient  victims  in  them. ' ' 

As  the  pathetic  trainloads  of  misery  moved  back- 
ward from  the  front  willing  hands  carried  in  food  or 


76  UNDER  THE  RED  CROSS  FLAG 

cooling  drinks.  It  is  told  of  one  cleanly  old  lady,  at 
Sumter  that  she  boarded  the  trains  every  morning  to 
wash  the  soldiers,  returning  home  by  a  later  train. 

The  system  of  bookkeeping  of  the  South  Carolina 
Bureau  of  Supplies  at  Charlottesville  provided  for  an 
invoice  book  for  receipts,  issue  book  for  distribution  in 
gross,  and  a  requisition  book  for  those  given  out  to  indi- 
viduals on  request  from  officials.  In  the  cities,  towns  and 
villages  of  the  State  money  was  contributed,  supplies  pur- 
chased or  made,  and  box  after  box  followed  the  armies 
or  was  sent  to  this  depository.  As  the  war  went  on  and 
the  conflict  was  maintained,  the  inventive  faculty  was 
put  to  a  severe  test  and  never  found  wanting.  Leaves 
were  gathered  in  nearby  forests  to  dye  the  wool  and  cot- 
ton; and  mixtures  of  blue,  black  and  white  carded  to- 
gether, were  spun  by  hand  and  woven  into  cloth  uni- 
forms for  the  Confederate  soldiers.  After  every  available 
blanket  was  given  away  even  carpets  were  taken  from  the 
floors  for  the  use  of  the  troops.  Wool  stuffed  mattresses 
were  ripped  apart  that  their  contents  might  be  recarded 
and  woven  into  cloth.  Trunks  and  attics  were  ransacked 
for  old  garments  and  bits  of  cloth  which,  raveled  out 
and  respun,  were  knitted  into  socks.  The  dresses  of  the 
women  themselves  were  of  home-spun,  the  gloves  made 
from  silk  stockings  that  had  danced  through  the  balls  of 
ante-bellum  days.  The  old  voluminous  paternal  cape 
supplied  jackets  for  all  the  girls  of  the  family.  Buttons 
were  cut  from  pieces  of  gourds  and  persimmon  seeds 
did  service  on  the  children 's  clothes,  while  palmetto,  corn 
shucks  or  straw  were  braided  and  woven  into  hats,  trim- 
med with  well-washed  bits  of  ribbon. 

Equally  resourceful  became  the  women  in  the  pro- 
visioning of  their  household.  Coffee  was  made  of  rye, 
wheat,  or  sweet  potatoes,  sweetened  with  sorghum  or 
honey.  Blackberry  vine  leaves  disguised  themselves  as 
tea ;  the  waves  of  the  sea  gave  them  their  salt ;  the  herbs 
or  roots  were  their  medicines.  In  the  evening  blazing 


THE  WOMEN  OF  THE  SOUTH  77 

knots  of  pine  in  the  chimney  provided  their  only  light, 
save  when  some  unusual  occasion  justified  the  extrava- 
gance of  tallow  candles.  Under  the  women's  hands  the 
plantations  were  cultivated  and  the  crops  raised.  It  was 
in  the  midst  of  such  deprivations  with  ever  cheerful 
courage  that  the  women  of  the  South  gave  much  of  their 
little  to  the  sick  and  wounded.  They  gave  themselves  as 
well.  The  wayside  hospitals,  developments  of  the  rest 
stations,  grew  up  along  the  lines  of  evacuation  of  the 
wounded,  who  received  there  nursing  care.  A  surgeon 
who  had  seen  service  in  one  of  these  hospitals  in  1866 
volunteered  in  the  Austrian  Red  Cross,  and  is  said  to 
have  put  to  good  use  his  experience  in  aiding  the  estab- 
lishment of  similar  institutions  in  Europe.  The  good 
Sisters  of  Our  Lady  of  Mercy,  faithful  to  their  name, 
went  into  Virginia  to  minister  to  the  wounded  of  the 
army  near  the  front.  An  unusual  gift,  though  not  an  in- 
frequent one,  numbered  among  donations  for  the  hos- 
pitals would  appear  as  "One  negro  man  as  nurse." 
Among  the  lists  of  deaths  published  in  a  Charleston 
paper  is  that  of  ''One  of  our  faithful  nurses,  Soye,  the 
property  of  William  Rovenal,  Esq. ' '  When  a  call  came 
for  help  for  five  thousand  prisoners  ill  with  typhoid 
fever,  in  three  hours'  time  many  boxes  of  food  were 
packed  and  sent  off  to  the  sick  and  starving  men. 

Page  after  page  with  their  prosaic  lists  of  donors 
and  supplies  tell  the  same  old  story  of  the  practical  ex- 
pression of  woman's  love  and  sympathy.  True  to  the 
traditions  of  war,  crowds  of  famished,  frightened 
refugees  poured  into  the  cities  on  the  approach  of  the 
Northern  armies,  adding  their  needs  to  the  already  heavy 
burden.  In  1861  the  destruction  of  a  large  part  of 
Charleston  by  fire  brought  another  horror  upon  the  un- 
fortunate people  and  taxed  their  efforts  to  the  utmost  to 
care  for  the  homeless  and  destitute  of  their  own  city. 

In  August,  1863,  began  the  siege  of  the  city,  and 
after  568  days  it  fell.  Casualties  sometimes  occurred 


78  UNDER  THE  RED  CROSS  FLAG 

among  the  women  and  children,  their  houses  were  shat- 
tered and  sometimes  burned.  Our  papers  to-day  are 
filled  with  reports  of  the  burning  and  destruction  of 
cities,  and  it  behooves  us  to  remember  how  much  a  part 
and  parcel  of  war  are  all  such  horrors.  To  watch  shells 
bursting  overhead,  to  listen  to  the  roar  of  guns  and  to 
fly  from  the  destruction  of  their  homes  brought  war 
close  to  these  women  of  the  South.  Very  vivid  are  their 
accounts  of  the  burning  and  sacking  of  Columbia.  Yet 
in  spite  of  the  gloom  and  anxiety  there  came  the  occa- 
sional touch  of  humor  that  links  so  closely  tragedy  to 
comedy,  as  illustrated  by  one  of  the  writers. 

"Never  shall  I  forget  a  little  incident  that  occurred 
on  Thursday  afternoon  before  the  occupation  on  Friday 
morning.  I  was  promenading  the  front  piazza  listening 
to  the  dull  boom  of  cannonry  as  it  came  borne  on  the 
western  breeze  from  across  the  river,  feeling  all  the 
horrors  of  the  situation  when  my  attention  was  called 
to  a  ragged  little  darkey — one  of  the  institutions  of  all 
Southern  cities — as  he  went  whistling  quite  unconcern- 
edly on  the  opposite  side  of  the  street.  Suddenly  a  big 
shell  came  hurtling  through  the  air,  striking  a  limb  just 
over  his  head,  shivering  it  into  a  thousand  pieces.  Like 
lightening  the  little  Arab  rolled  himself  into  an  incon- 
ceivably small  black  ball,  crowding  against  the  fence, 
with  scarcely  anything  visible  but  the  whites  of  his  eyes, 
which  he  turned  in  amazement  towards  the  shattered 
limb.  For  one  brief  moment  he  lay  there.  Then  spring- 
ing up  he  exclaimed:  'Fore  God;  I  thought  he  had  me,' 
and  fled  like  the  wind.'* 

In  reading  this  South  Carolina  record  it  has  proved 
impracticable  to  single  out  individuals,  so  universal 
was  the  interest  and  the  assistance;  and  the  lack  of 
records  for  the  other  states,  in  which  were  given  the  same 
devoted  labor  and  service,  makes  it  impossible.  North 
and  South  alike  the  women  loved  and  labored,  sorrowed 
and  sacriced,  as  only  women  do. 


CHAPTER  V 

AN  ATTEMPT  TO  ORGANIZE  AN  AMERICAN  RED  CROSS. 
WAS  THE  TREATY  OF  GENEVA  AN  ENTANGLING 
ALLIANCE?  EARLY  DAYS  OF  THE  AMERICAN  RED 
CROSS.  DISASTERS.  CUBAN  RECONCENTRADOS. 
THE  SPANISH  WAR. 

THOUGH  the  first  use  of  the  Geneva  cross  as  a  means 
of  designating  a  relief  personnel  was  evidently  made  by 
the  Commissary  Belief  Corps  of  the  Sanitary  Com- 
mission, our  government  had  not  signed  the  treaty,  and 
even  had  it  done  so  it  would  not  be  operative  as  an 
agreement  under  the  condition  of  civil  war.  The  treaty 
is  not  mandatory  upon  any  country  unless  the  enemy's 
government  is  also  party  to  the  compact,  and  in  civil 
war  the  state  or  any  party  in  rebellion  cannot  sign  such  a 
treaty  until  its  government  has  been  officially  recognized 
by  a  number  of  the  other  signatory  powers. 

At  the  time  of  the  convention  Mr.  Seward  looked  with 
doubtful  eyes  upon  the  propriety  of  sending  representa- 
tives of  our  government  save  as  informal  delegates.  He 
had  a  wholesome  dread  of  any  entangling  foreign  alli- 
ance that  made  him  naturally  cautious  regarding  any- 
thing in  the  nature  of  a  treaty.  The  Secretary  of  State 
is  reported  to  have  said  of  the  convention: 

"Our  government,  while  always  ready  to  forward 
all  humanitarian  action,  has  a  well-understood  policy  of 
holding  itself  aloof  from  all  European  congresses  or 
compacts  of  a  political  nature.  The  congress  at  Geneva 
being  for  the  modification  of  international  laws  of  war 
is  one  of  great  significance  and  the  sending  of  delegates 
officially  empowered  to  represent  and  act  for  the  United 
States  was  from  the  many  difficulties  apparent,  nearly  or 
quite  impossible.  The  government  wishes  to  act  as  a  free 
agent,  with  option  in  the  premises,  and  in  its  own  good 
time. ' '  79 


80  UNDER  THE  RED  CROSS  FLAG 

It  was  due  to  this  attitude  on  the  part  of  the  govern- 
ment that  many  years  passed  before  the  United  States 
affirmed  this  humanitarian  treaty.  In  1865,  after  the 
close  of  the  war,  and  again  in  1867,  the  Swiss  Federal 
Council  suggested  to  the  United  States  Government  the 
adoption  of  the  treaty.  These  communications  were  sent 
by  the  State  Department  to  the  Secretary  of  War  for 
recommendations  and  returned  without  comment. 

On  July  20,  1866,  a  number  of  men  who  had  been  the 
most  active  in  the  Sanitary  Commission  formed  the  Am- 
erican Association  for  the  Belief  of  Misery  on  the  Bat- 
tlefields. Its  objects  were  to  obtain  the  government's 
adherence  to  the  treaty  of  Geneva  and  to  maintain  a  per- 
manent relief  society.  Its  badge  was  the  Red  Cross  in- 
signia on  a  white  ground.  Neither  the  government  nor 
the  public  could  it  arouse  into  action  favorable  to  the 
treaty,  though  during  the  Franco-Prussian  War  of  1870 
it  received  generous  contributions,  which  were  for- 
warded to  the  belligerent  nations.  It  was  the  first  Red 
Cross  organization  of  the  United  States,  but  holding  an 
anomalous  position  under  a  government  that  had  not 
acceded  to  the  treaty  under  which  it  must  function  in 
time  of  war,  in  1871  its  existence  ceased. 

In  the  autumn  of  1869  Miss  Clara  Barton,  one  of  the 
many  women  who  had  aided  in  the  care  of  the  sick  and 
wounded  during  the  Civil  War,  met  at  Geneva  members 
of  the  International  Red  Cross  Committee,  and  they 
expressed  their  regret  that  the  United  States  Govern- 
ment, which  through  its  own  orders  during  the  war  had 
manifested  such  a  humanitarian  spirit,  had  not  yet  ac- 
cepted the  convention  of  Geneva.  Miss  Barton  later 
witnessed  the  work  of  the  Red  Cross  during  the  War  of 
1870.  In  1877,  after  her  return  to  America,  Monsieur 
Moynier,  President  of  the  International  Red  Cross 
Committee,  decided  to  make  a  further  effort  to  obtain 
the  adherence  to  the  treaty  by  our  government.  For  this 
purpose  a  special  letter  was  sent  to  Miss  Barton  to 


EARLY  DAYS  OF  AMERICAN  RED  CROSS  81 

deliver  to  President  Hayes.  He  in  his  turn  referred  it 
to  the  State  Department,  where  it  again  met  the  fate  of 
previous  appeals.  In  1881,  through  President  Garfield, 
another  effort  was  made,  which  elicited  a  response  from 
Mr.  Blaine,  giving  assurance  that,  with  the  President's 
approval,  the  adoption  of  the  treaty  would  be  recom- 
mended to  Congress.  Encouraged  by  this  promise,  a  Red 
Cross  organization  was  incorporated  in  the  District  of 
Columbia  in  July,  1881,  under  the  name  of  ' '  The  Ameri- 
can Association  of  the  Red  Cross,"  of  which  Miss  Clara 
Barton  was  president.  President  Garfield  did  not  live  to 
see  the  adoption  of  the  treaty,  but  President  Arthur  and 
Mr.  Blaine  secured  its  confirmation  by  the  Senate  with- 
out a  dissenting  vote,  in  March,  1882.  The  President 
then  issued  a  proclamation  making  public  the  convention, 
"To  the  end  that  the  same  in  every  article  and  clause 
thereof  may  be  observed  and  fulfilled  with  good  faith  by 
the  United  States  and  citizens  thereof. ' ' 

Hardly  had  one  small  branch  of  the  American  Red 
Cross  started  into  existence  at  Dansville,  N.  Y.,  before 
Nature  gave  it  work  to  do.  Across  the  great  forests  of 
Michigan  swept  one  of  those  raging  forest  fires,  so  con- 
stant a  menace  to  our  Northwestern  states.  Crackling 
and  roaring,  with  curling  tongues  of  flame,  it  devoured 
trees  and  house,  live  stock  and  barns,  and  before  its  wild 
fury  fled  the  terrified  victims,  men,  women  and  children. 
Murky  clouds  of  smoke  darkened  even  the  distant  skies 
over  the  town  where  this  little  Red  Cross  began  its  work 
of  relief.  Money  and  clothing  were  quickly  collected  and 
sent  to  the  sister  state. 

If  fire  had  given  the  Red  Cross  its  first  occupation, 
wind  and  water  were  ready  to  follow.  In  1882  and  1883 
over  its  banks  tore  the  flood  waters  of  the  Mississippi, 
covering  for  hundreds  of  square  miles  the  rich  cotton 
and  sugar  plantations,  sweeping  away  to  the  gulf  scores 
of  little  houses,  and  frightened  people  clinging  to  their 
roofs  or  hanging,  *5old,  wet  and  famished,  to  the  sway- 
6 


82  UNDER  THE  RED  CROSS  FLAG 

ing  trees.  But  a  little  later,  like  an  invisible  giant,  a  fear- 
ful cyclone  cut  a  path  of  crushed  desolation  thirty  miles 
wide  across  Mississippi  and  Louisiana  from  the  river  to 
the  gulf.  The  earlier  floods  had  made  faint  calls  to  the 
Red  Cross,  new  to  its  duties,  but  these  had  been  suffici- 
ent to  bring  to  it  a  realization  of  flood  relief  work.  In 
February,  1884,  without  warning  a  sudden  thaw  after 
heavy  snows  raised  the  waters  of  the  Ohio  River  to  a 
great  height.  Over  the  farm  lands,  flooding  villages, 
towns  and  cities,  the  river  poured  its  mass  of  muddy 
waters.  A  cry  for  help  arose  from  the  raging  torrents. 
Congress  appropriated  hundreds  of  thousands  of  dol- 
lars; rations  and  tents  were  rushed  to  the  scene  by  the 
army  for  immediate  relief. 

Miss  Barton,  the  president  of  the  Red  Cross,  and 
other  members  of  her  staff,  left  for  the  West,  establish- 
ing headquarters  first  at  Cincinnati  and  later  three 
hundred  miles  below  at  Evansville,  where  relief  supplies 
poured  in  upon  them.  Realizing  the  need  for  aid  all 
along  the  flood-swept  valley,  a  400-ton  steamer  was 
secured,  loaded  with  clothing  and  coal  to  the  water's 
edge,  and  started  down  the  river,  flying  the  Red  Cross 
flag,  the  first  of  the  many  ships  of  mercy  to  fly  that  ban- 
ner from  its  foremast.  Back  and  forth  from  bank  to 
bank  it  wended  its  way,  amidst  debris  from  the  city,  farm 
and  forest.  Every  little  hill  or  promontory  held  its  clus- 
ter of  wretched  fugitives  to  whom  the  loaded  boat  car- 
ried help  from  the  heaped-up  stores.  Local  relief  com- 
mittees from  the  large  places  were  provided  with  a 
goodly  stock  for  distribution.  Was  there  ever  a  ship 
with  a  less  romantic  name  than  the  "Josh  V.  Throop?" 
It  could  not  even  be  mentioned  with  the  grace  of  the 
feminine  gender.  But  from  Evansville  to  Cairo — four 
hundred  miles  of  woe-begone  people  and  long-drawn-out 
assistance — no  name  was  ever  more  welcome. 

Hardly  had  it  reached  Evansville  on  its  return  than 
there  came  a  mighty  wail  from  the  Mississippi  Valley, 


DISASTERS  83 

where,  washing  away  the  river  dikes,  the  flood  had  sud- 
denly created  an  inland  sea,  a  great  waste  of  waters,  at 
some  places  thirty  miles  wide.  Again  the  army  rushed 
to  the  rescue  with  emergency  supplies.  Human  victims 
were  the  rightful  objects  of  its  aid,  but  pitiful  was  the 
plight  of  the  unfortunate  animals.  There  had  been  no 
chance  to  get  them  away.  Some  of  the  owners  had  tried 
to  save  them  on  frailly  constructed  rafts,  where  they  were 
forced  to  abandon  the  miserable  creatures.  Sometimes 
they  had  huddled  together  on  low  hummocks  of  ground, 
where  they  stood  knee-deep  in  water  until  weakened  by 
starvation  they  fell  and  drifted  away  in  the  currents. 

Abandoning  the  ' '  Throop, "  which  was  not  suitable  for 
navigation  on  the  Mississippi,  the  "Mattie  Bell"  was 
chartered  by  the  Red  Cross  at  St.  Louis,  and  loaded  with 
hay,  corn,  oats,  and  salt  for  the  cattle,  with  clothing,  cook- 
ing utensils,  medicines  and  other  supplies  not  furnished 
by  the  government.  To  the  simple  farmers,  to  the  tat- 
tered negroes,  to  appealing  women  and  children  and  to 
hungry-eyed  cattle  all  the  way  from  St.  Louis  to  New 
Orleans  the  Bed  Cross  ship  carried  its  aid.  Long  after 
an  old  Uncle  Amos  told  Miss  Barton  that  above  a  hun- 
dred little  cabin  doors  along  the  Mississippi  the  negroes 
had  put  up  the  Red  Cross,  that  "Every  night  befo'  dey 
goes  to  bed  dey  names  your  name  and  prays  God  to  bless 
you  an'  de  Red  Cross  dat  he  sent  to  dem  in,  time 
of  trouble  and  distress." 

A  drouth  in  Texas  that  brought  thousands  of  families 
to  the  verge  of  starvation,  a  cyclone  in  Illinois  that  de- 
stroyed the  larger  part  of  a  prosperous  little  town,  kill- 
ing some  and  injuring  others,  called  for  Red  Cross  aid. 

A  new  form  of  calamity  had  to  be  met  in  an  epidemic 
of  yellow  fever  that  broke  out  at  Jacksonville,  Florida, 
in  1888.  Not  until  after  the  reorganization  of  the  Red 
Cross  in  1905  was  a  corps  of  graduated  nurses  for  active 
service  provided,  so  that  this  early  epidemic  was  met  by 
the  hasty  gathering  together  of  some  thirty  persons, 


84  UNDER  THE  RED  CROSS  FLAG 

mainly  colored  women,  who  had  nursed  yellow  fever 
patients  in  New  Orleans.  On  the  way  to  Jacksonville, 
ten  of  these  were  dropped  off  in  the  inky  darkness  of  a 
rainy  night  to  make  their  way  to  the  small  town  of  Mac- 
clenny,  where  the  epidemic  had  stricken  down  most  of 
the  population.  Here,  the  Bed  Cross  reported  that 
helpful,  if  untrained  service,  was  given  for  more  than 
two  months.  Some  untold  story  of  unfaithfulness  on  the 
part  of  the  remainder  of  the  nurses  is  hinted  at  in  the 
account  of  the  relief  work. 

In  connection  with  this  yellow  fever  epidemic,  it  is 
an  interesting  fact  that  Miss  Jane  A.  Delano,  then  a 
young  graduate  nurse,  to  whom  is  due  the  splendidly 
organized  Red  Cross  Nursing  Corps  of  to-day,  volun- 
teered her  services  to  Jacksonville,  and  with  several 
nurses  under  her  was  in  charge  of  the  Sand  Hill  Hos- 
pital. Though  it  was  not  then  known  that  the  mos- 
quito was  the  carrier  of  yellow  fever  germs,  Miss  Delano 
insisted  upon  the  use  of  mosquito  bars,  and  not  one  of  her 
nurses  suffered  from  the  fever. 

In  a  slight  drizzle  of  rain,  Decoration  Day,  with  its 
music,  its  flags  and  its  flowers,  had  passed  at  Johnstown, 
lying  peacefully  in  the  Conemaugh  Valley,  with  never 
a  dream  of  the  awful  fate  before  it.  The  drizzle  devel- 
oped into  a  downpour  of  rain.  River  and  creek,  joining 
their  rapidly  rising  waters,  flooded  the  town  without 
developing  serious  alarm.  Suddenly,  the  horrified  peo- 
ple saw  rushing  down  upon  them  a  wall  of  water,  carry- 
ing everything  before  it  when  the  dam  of  South  Fork 
Lake  gave  way.  The  narrowness  of  the  valley  added  to 
the  force  of  the  rushing  torrent.  Building  after  build- 
ing crumbled  in  its  grasp,  carrying  down  with  them  those 
who  had  not  gained  the  perilous  though  only  security, 
their  house  roofs.  The  total  number  known  to  have 
been  drowned  was  2228,  and  the  entire  damage  to  prop- 
erty, as  sworn  to  by  claimants,  amounted  to  $9,674,105. 

The  State  Flood  Relief  Commission's  report  of  the 


THE  JOHNSTOWN  FLOOD  85 

relief  work  gives  a  total  of  $4,116,801,  of  which  amount 
Miss  Barton  reported  the  Red  Cross  received  and  ex- 
pended $39,000.  The  president  of  the  Red  Cross  and 
her  assistants  erected  at  Johnstown  warehouses  and 
offices,  and  were  actively  engaged  in  the  distribution  of 
supplies.  Boarding  houses  were  also  built,  and  proved 
of  much  value  to  thousands  whose  duties  kept  them  at 
Johnstown  until  their  houses  could  be  repaired  or  re- 
built. It  will  be  noted  in  the  relief  work  report  what  an 
unusual  percentage  of  the  personal  losses  were  secured 
in  contributions.  It  is  also  to  be  noted  that  according 
to  the  Red  Cross  statement  less  than  one  per  cent,  of  the 
contributed  funds  were  entrusted  to  the  Red  Cross. 

Nature  had  still  another  form  of  calamity  to  provide, 
one  so  far  almost  unknown  in  our  land  of  plenty — the 
disaster  of  famine.  Two  years  of  poor  harvest,  followed 
by  the  almost  total  failure  of  that  of  1891,  over  two 
hundred  thousand  square  miles  in  Central  Russia,  the 
most  productive  part  of  the  country,  brought  thirty  mil- 
lions of  people  face  to  face  with  famine.  Large  appro- 
priations were  made  by  the  Russian  government;  the 
Russian  Red  Cross  and  wealthy  citizens  did  what  they 
could,  but  the  need  was  far  beyond  the  supply.  Famine 
does  not  startle  the  world  by  sudden  headlines  in  the 
papers  announcing  its  thousands  of  victims,  as  does  some 
fearful  earthquake.  Slowly  the  wretched  story  of  star- 
vation creeps  forth  to  the  outer  world.  Our  American 
people,  quick  to  respond  to  such  a  pathetic  cry,  sent  over 
five  shiploads  of  food  supplies,  one  of  which  was  sent  by 
the  Red  Cross  and  consisted  of  corn  donated  by  Iowa 
farmers.  With  this  and  those  sent  by  other  contributors 
the  American  minister  at  St.  Petersburg  estimated  more 
than  seven  hundred  thousand  people  were  fed  for  a 
month.  Life  came  to  them  from  the  far  away  countries, 
and  their  appreciation  was  deep  and  sincere.  The 
mayor  of  St.  Petersburg  said  in  an  address  to  the 
American  donors: 


86  UNDER  THE  RED  CROSS  FLAG 

"The  Kussian  people  know  how  to  be  grateful.  If 
up  to  this  day  these  two  great  countries,  Russia  and  the 
United  States,  have  not  only  never  quarreled,  but  on  the 
contrary,  wished  each  other  prosperity  and  strength 
always,  these  feelings  of  sympathy  shall  grow  only 
stronger  in  the  future — both  countries  being  conscious 
that,  in  the  season  of  trial  for  either  it  will  find  in  the 
other  cordial  succor  and  support.  And  when  can  true 
friendship  be  tested  if  not  in  the  hour  of  misfortune?" 

With  a  gift  at  Easter  of  three  colored  eggs  a  peasant 
of  Semara  wrote  to  a  Russian  editor  this  letter,  with  the 
request  that  both  be  sent  to  America : 

"Christ  is  risen!  To  the  merciful  benefactors,  the 
protectors  of  the  poor,  the  feeders  of  the  starving,  the 
guardians  of  the  orphans — Christ  is  risen !  North  Am- 
ericans! May  the  Lord  grant  you  a  peaceful  and  long 
life  and  prosperity  in  your  land,  and  may  your  fields 
give  abundant  harvests — Christ  is  risen.  Your  merciful- 
ness gives  us  a  helping  hand.  Through  your  charity  you 
have  satisfied  the  starving.  And  for  your  magnificent 
alms  accept  from  me  this  humble  gift  which  I  send  to  the 
entire  American  people  for  your  great  beneficence,  from 
all  the  hearts  of  the  poor,  filled  with  feelings  of  joy." 

True  friendship  is  expressed,  not  in  words,  but  in 
deeds.  The  Red  Cross  carries  on  its  wonderful  work 
for  the  sake  of  suffering  humanity,  but  all  unconsciously 
it  is  laying  foundation  stone  after  foundation  stone  in 
the  great  structure  of  international  brotherhood  yet  to  be 
built. 

No  part  of  our  country  may  count  itself  free  from 
the  need  of  Red  Cross  aid,  and  already  a  dozen  States 
had  received  assistance  from  the  small  organization.  The 
low  sea  islands  off  the  coast  of  South  Carolina  were  the 
next  field  of  its  labors.  A  hurricane,  piling  up  the  waters 
of  the  sea  into  a  huge  tidal  wave,  beat  over  these  islands, 
little  more  than  sand  bars,  drowning  several  thousand 
persons  and  destroying  the  small  homes  and  plantations 


THE  TURKISH  RELIEF  EXPEDITION      87 

of  the  others.  The  little  huts,  built  without  foundations, 
collapsed  like  houses  of  cards  before  the  storm  of  wind 
and  water.  The  people  were  mainly  negroes,  and  the 
ruin  of  their  cotton  crops,  just  gathered,  left  them  abso- 
lutely destitute.  To  have  simply  clothed  and  fed  them 
would  have  brought  utter  demoralization.  It  was  essen- 
tial to  provide  work,  so  the  repairing  of  roads,  the  open- 
ing of  old  drains  and  the  making  of  new  ones  were  un- 
dertaken, while  the  women  were  given  sewing  to  do ;  and 
all  were  paid  in  food  and  supplies.  The  tools  and  farm- 
ing implements  were  marked  with  the  Geneva  Cross, 
which  not  only  enhanced  their  values  in  their  users' 
eyes  but  seemed  to  throw  a  happy,  industrious  charm 
about  the  work.  Looking  to  further  rehabilitation,  pota- 
toes and  corn  were  given  out  and  planted  for  the  next 
harvest,  and  thereby  two  crops  were  produced,  to  the 
wonderment  and  delight  of  the  dusky  population.  The 
wells,  overrun  with  sea  water,  brought  about  seriously 
unsanitary  conditions  that  necessitated  the  creation  of 
a  clinic  and  dispensary  in  connection  with  the  relief 
work.  Among  people,  accustomed  as  were  these,  to  the 
medical  quackery  of  the  charlatan,  little  better  than  the 
Indian  medicine  men,  it  was  a  trifle  difficult  to  make 
an  accurate  diagnosis  from  such  description  as  was  given 
by  the  darkeys,  one  of  whom  described  his  ailments 
thus : ' '  I  got  a  lump  in  de  stomach  here,  sir,  and  he  jump 
up  in  de  t'roat  and  den  I  gits  swingness  in  de  head.  Dat 
lump  he  done  gone  all  over  sometime;  I  fine  him  here 
and  den  he  go  way  down  in  de  leg." 

Far  into  the  East  went  next  the  Bed  Cross.  One  of 
those  periodic  disturbances  between  Moslems  and  Chris- 
tians broke  out  in  Armenia  and  left  barbaric  horrors  in 
its  wake.  A  committee  to  raise  relief  funds  was  organ- 
ized in  New  York,  and  the  Red  Cross  was  asked  to  un- 
dertake the  work.  Unexpected  obstacles  arose.  The  old 
prejudice  against  the  cross,  born  of  the  days  of  the  Cru- 
sades, was  to  be  dealt  with.  An  official  notification  came 


88  UNDER  THE  RED  CROSS  FLAG 

that  the  Red  Cross  could  not  enter  Turkey.  The  per- 
sonnel of  the  relief  corps  was  already  on  the  way  to 
London  when  the  message  arrived,  and  there  it  had  to 
wait  for  diplomacy  to  settle  the  problem.  Finally  it  was 
agreed  that  the  American  Minister  to  Turkey  should  be 
permitted  to  appoint  a  relief  committee,  and  he  promptly 
selected  that  of  the  Red  Cross,  enabling  it  to  proceed  to 
Constantinople.  Miss  Barton  in  an  interview  there  with 
the  Minister  of  Foreign  Affairs,  Tewfik  Pasha,  explained 
the  plans  of  the  relief  work,  that  it  was  to  be  open  and 
above  board,  asking  the  same  fair  treatment  and  protec- 
tion in  return.  This  was  promised  and  the  promise  ful- 
filled. The  five  expeditions  that  were  sent  out  were  con- 
stantly provided  with  a  Turkish  guard  at  the  expense  of 
that  Government. 

But  there  were  still  other  difficulties  in  the  way.  Our 
American  people  are  strangely  obtuse  to  the  naturally 
resentful  attitude  aroused  by  the  expression  of  criticisms 
and  attacks  in  our  public  press,  often  based  on  incom- 
plete information.  How  were  the  Red  Cross  people  to 
secure  the  necessary  permission  and  protection  from  a 
Government  whose  sovereign  was  Commander  of  the 
Faithful  and  which  found  in  our  American  papers 
articles  announcing  that  a  pro-Armenian  alliance  was 
working  "hand  in  glove"  with  the  Red  Cross.  The 
alliance,  according  to  the  press,  was  to  be  formed 
throughout  the  country,  aided  by  Governors  of  the 
States.  The  watchwords  of  its  propaganda,  printed 
large,  being  ' '  God  against  Allah,  Christ  against  Moham- 
med, Bible  against  Koran,  Heaven  against  Hell."  Yet 
the  Turkish  Government  did  finally  grant  permission, 
and  the  relief  expedition  set  forth,  Miss  Barton  remain- 
ing at  headquarters  in  Constantinople  to  take  charge  of 
matters  there  and  to  reply  to  the  dissatisfaction  with  the 
Red  Cross  that  arose  in  the  finance  committee  in  Amer- 
ica. The  expedition  found  it  necessary  to  travel  over 
the  rocky  defiles  and  snowy  passes  in  caravan  form,  the 


THE  TURKISH  RELIEF  EXPEDITION      89 

personnel  journeying  on  horseback,  the  supplies  carried 
on  camels  and  the  Turkish  guard  in  attendance.  To 
avoid  the  danger  of  infection  from  typhus  and  small- 
pox, on  arriving  in  most  of  the  villages  tents  were  pitched 
in  the  outskirts  The  aid  of  the  courageous  missionaries 
scattered  throughout  the  country  proved  invaluable  in 
the  distribution  of  food,  clothing,  tools,  farming  imple- 
ments, live  stock,  seeds  and  medicines.  The  Red  Cross 
agents  generally  employed  natives  to  nurse  the  typhus 
victims,  for,  though  not  aware  of  the  medium  of  infec- 
tion, they  recognized  the  importance  of  avoiding  too 
close  contact  with  the  disease,  and  so  themselves  fortu- 
nately escaped  this  serious  danger. 

As  the  Finance  Committee  in  America  raised  the 
funds  for  the  relief  work,  it  required  an  account  of  the 
receipts  and  expenditures.  This  was  contrary  to  the 
usual  policy  of  the  Red  Cross  officials  of  the  old  regime 
who  had  declined  before  to  make  any  such  reports  pub- 
lic. This  financial  statement  is  to  be  found  among  the 
reports  of  the  national  organization. 

The  end  of  the  nineteenth  century  brought  to  the 
American  Red  Cross  the  first  and  only  demand  from  its 
own  country  for  relief  under  war  conditions,  and  sharply 
emphasized  the  fact  that  it  was  totally  inadequate  to 
the  fulfilment  of  its  duties  It  is  impossible  in  this  brief 
outline  to  go  into  detailed  accounts  of  conditions.  Suf- 
fice it  to  say  that  war  is  a  national  calamity  and  the 
necessary  relief  it  entails  can  only  be  efficiently  main- 
tained by  a  national  organization  in  close  affiliation  and 
understanding  with  the  Medical  Service  of  both  army 
and  navy  on  the  one  hand,  and  possessed  of  public  con- 
fidence and  united  support  on  the  other.  According  to 
the  congressional  charter  of  the  American  Red  Cross, 
its  purposes  are  clearly  defined  for  war  relief  work  as 
follows : 

"To  furnish  volunteer  aid  to  the  sick  and  wounded  of 
armies  in  time  of  war,  in  accordance  with  the  spirit  and 


90  UNDER  THE  RED  CROSS  FLAG 

conditions  of  the  conference  of  Geneva  of  October,  1863, 
and  also  of  the  treaty  of  the  Red  Cross,  or  the  treaty  of 
Geneva,  of  August  22,  1864,  to  which  the  United  States 
of  America  gave  its  adhesion  on  March  1,  1882.  And 
for  said  purposes  to  perform  all  the  duties  devolved 
upon  a  national  society  by  each  nation  which  has  acceded 
to  said  treaty.  To  act  in  matters  of  voluntary  relief  and 
in  accord  with  the  military  and  naval  authorities  as  a 
medium  of  communication  between  the  people  of  the 
United  States  of  America  and  their  army  and  navy,  and 
to  act  in  such  matters  between  similar  national  societies 
of  other  governments  through  the  '  Comite  International 
de  Secours,'  and  the  Government  and  the  people  and 
the  army  and  navy  of  the  United  States  of  America. ' ' 

No  small  group  of  individuals  can  cope  with  the  needs 
of  war.  If  this  is  attempted  the  result  will  invariably 
be  the  creation  of  innumerable  independent  organiza- 
tions, full  of  enthusiasm  but  with  neither  knowledge, 
experience  nor  training,  and  with  no  well  informed  cen- 
tral officers  duly  authorized  by  the  Government  to  bring 
about  that  union  and  co-operation  which  alone  can  se- 
cure success.  Because  of  the  fact  that  no  strong  national 
Bed  Cross  existed  on  the  outbreak  of  the  war  with  Spain 
in  1898,  the  inevitable  formation  of  many  independent 
committees  and  so-called  "national"  organizations  oc- 
curred. Out  of  the  tangle  of  many  reports  it  is  not  pos- 
sible to  obtain  a  connected  story. 

The  unrest  and  disturbances  that  had  existed  for 
a  long  time  in  the  island  of  Cuba  induced  the  Spanish 
authorities  to  adopt  very  drastic,  and  what  were  consid- 
ered cruel,  methods.  Men,  women  and  children  by  thou- 
sands, herded  together  near  seacoast  towns  and  sur- 
rounded by  barbed  wire  network  of  fences,  dotted  here 
and  there  with  guard  houses,  were  left  without  adequate 
shelter  or  provisions,  so  that  their  condition  became  one 
of  intense  suffering  and  misery. 

A  report  on  this  situation  made  by  Senator  Procter 


CUBAN  RECONCENTRADOS  91 

after  a  personal  investigation  not  only  aroused  public 
sympathy  but  led  President  McKinley,  through  John 
Sherman,  Secretary  of  State,  to  appeal  for  funds,  pro- 
visions and  clothing  to  be  sent  for  distribution  to  Gen- 
eral Fitzhugh  Lee,  American  Consul  General  at  Havana. 
The  Red  Cross  offered  its  services  to  the  President  for 
this  relief  work,  and  the  State  Department,  with  the 
President's  approval,  proposed  to  its  officers  to  unite 
with  certain  others  interested  to  form  a  committee  to 
be  called  "The  Central  Cuban  Relief  Committee,"  for 
the  purpose  of  collecting  and  forwarding  supplies  to 
the  Consul  General,  "he  having  been  placed  by  the 
President  in  sole  charge  of  the  receipt  and  distribution 
of  the  relief  in  the  island."  Later  the  American  Red 
Cross  acted  as  distributing  agent  at  Havana,  but  with 
the  breaking  out  of  hostilities  with  Spain  it  withdrew. 
The  Cuban  Relief  Committee  then  chartered  for  the 
Red  Cross  the  "State  of  Texas"  for  the  transportation 
of  further  relief  to  aid  the  reconcentrados. 

This  ship  was  placed  under  the  orders  of  the  com- 
mander-in-chief  of  the  naval  forces,  and  in  Mr.  Long's 
the  Secretary  of  the  Navy,  letter  of  instructions 
handed  Miss  Barton  to  deliver  to  Admiral  Sampson  he 
was  cautioned  to  see  "that  none  of  these  supplies  shall 
come  into  the  possession  of  the  Spanish  army,  as  this 
would  result  in  defeating  the  purpose  for  which  the 
blockade  has  been  established."  It  was  thus  made  im- 
possible to  land  the  supplies  until  our  forces  were  in  con- 
trol of  a  portion  of  Cuba,  and  eventually  they  were 
utilized  for  the  benefit  of  the  sick  and  wounded  soldiers 
of  our  army  at  El  Caney  and  Siboney,  the  New  York 
Committee  refunding  their  value  to  the  Cuban  Relief 
Committee. 

In  the  meantime  the  American  National  Red  Cross 
Relief  Committee  was  organized  in  New  York  City,  with 
various  auxiliaries  in  the  eastern  part  of  the  country 


92 

and  at  Pittsburgh.  This  committee  acted  practically 
independently  of  the  National  Association,  raised,  ad- 
ministered and  accounted  for  its  own  funds.  It  had 
sub-committees  on  nurses,  on  ice  plants,  on  cots,  on  am- 
bulances, and  on  employment  for  soldiers'  wives.  Most 
excellent  and  devoted  service  was  given  by  these  com- 
mittees, but  the  work  was  carried  on  under  many  diffi- 
culties because  there  existed  at  Washington  no  capable 
central  organization  in  close  and  sympathetic  under- 
standing with  the  Government  officials.  Nurses  were 
needed,  but  it  required  a  visit  to  the  Capital,  interviews 
with  the  President,  special  conferences  with  War  De- 
partment officers,  and  many  explanations  before  they 
were  accepted.  Among  the  early  nurses  gathered  to- 
gether from  those  who  offered  their  services  on  the  West 
Coast  there  were  some  sent  to  the  Philippines  who 
proved  so  objectionable  that  later  Mr.  Taft,  when  Gov- 
ernor of  the  islands,  was  compelled  to  ask  for  their 
recall. 

To  carry  supplies  to  Cuba  a  yacht  was  purchased, 
renamed  the  "Red  Cross,"  and  loaded  with  stores,  but 
storms  injured  her  machinery  and  drove  her  back  to 
Key  West,  where  her  suplies  had  to  be  re-shipped  by 
transport.  Eleven  ambulances  were  bought,  but  only 
five  were  landed  from  the  ship  on  which  they  were  sent. 
Misunderstandings  with  the  Government,  and  lack  of 
capacity  to  handle  the  situation  on  the  part  of  the  Red 
Cross  at  Washington  prevented  these  ambulances  reach- 
ing Santiago,  where  Government  surgeons  stated  they 
would  have  been  of  incalculable  value,  as  the  lack  of 
transportation  facilities  resulted  in  the  death  of  many 
of  the  wounded. 

In  the  meantime,  Philadelphia,  which,  because  the 
Red  Cross  officers  at  Johnstown  would  make  no  report 
of  receipts  and  expenditures,  declined  to  have  further 
association  with  the  society,  started  a  National  Relief 
Commission,  which  refused  to  affiliate  with  the  New 


THE  SPANISH  WAR  93 

York  Red  Cross  Relief  Commission.  In  New  York 
still  another  commission  was  organized,  called  "The 
Woman's  National  War  Relief  Association."  An  invi- 
tation to  become  auxiliary  to  the  Red  Cross  was  like- 
wise declined  by  this  association  "upon  the  ground  of 
preference  for  work  entirely  national  in  character,  which 
should  .be  by  Americans,  for  Americans,  with  the  treas- 
ury so  regulated  that,  war  ended,  every  dollar  should 
be  for  Americans  still  to  the  ultimate  dollar  ieceived." 

In  Boston  other  committees  were  organized  for  the 
chartering  and  fitting  out  of  a  hospital  ship.  In  Minne- 
sota and  on  the  Pacific  Coast  Red  Cross  Associations 
sprang  into  existence,  and  like  that  of  New  York,  acted 
independently  in  the  collection  and  administration  of 
funds  and  supplies.  Cleveland  had  its  War  Emergency 
Relief  Board,  but  what  was  done  in  Chicago,  St.  Louis 
and  scores  of  other  cities  it  is  difficult  to  discover,  as 
no  reports  are  to  be  found  in  the  Congressional  Library. 

As  a  result  of  this  lack  of  centralization  and  of  co- 
operation and  in  spite  of  most  devoted  and  self-sacrific- 
ing work  on  the  part  of  many  individuals,  this  rich  coun- 
try failed  to  give  the  aid  it  should  have  given  to  our  sick 
and  wounded  men.  Dr.  0  'Reilly,  later  surgeon  general, 
used  to  tell  with  comical  pathos  of  the  inviting  boxes  that 
reached  his  hospital  and  were  opened  with  eager  hands, 
in  hopes  of  finding  desperately  needed  hospital  garments 
and  linen,  only  to  discover  that  they  were  filled  to  over- 
flowing with  abdominal  bands.  Colonel  William  Gary 
Sanger  felt  the  tragedy  of  all  this  unorganized  work 
while  scores  of  his  men  lay  ill  with  burning  fever  and 
had  nothing  to  wear  but  their  heavy  uniforms.  In  some 
cases  tons  of  ice  were  side-tracked  and  melted  away, 
while  the  fever-stricken  soldiers  moaned  for  ice  water  or 
other  cooling  drinks.  The  story  of  the  suffering  on  the 
first  transport  that  brought  the  wounded  north,  because 
of  lack  of  sufficient  surgeons  and  nurses  and  supplies, 
filled  the  papers  with  indignant  criticism;  quite  value- 


94  UNDER  THE  RED  CROSS  FLAG 

less,  though,  to  undo  what  these  men  had  undergone. 
At  Camp  Wickoff  the  sick  when  first  landed  slept  on 
the  ground,  without  a  board  beneath  them  or  a  shelter 
above  them. 

Facts  like  these  are  not  recalled  to  reflect  upon  the 
committees  or  to  minimize  the  splendid  work  they  accom- 
plished. Money,  supplies  and  thousands  eager  to  aid 
there  were  on  the  one  hand,  and  need  and  suffering  on 
the  other ;  but  no  well  organized  Ked  Cross  to  bring  the 
two  together.  Such  conditions  emphasize  the  necessity, 
if  they  are  not  to  be  repeated  time  and  time  again,  of 
a  permanent  organization  which  in  time  of  peace  has 
prepared  for  war.  The  harassed  officials  of  the  War 
Department  in  the  hurry  and  excitement  following  the 
outbreak  of  hostilities  cannot  devote  their  time  to  con- 
ferences with  representatives  of  innumerable  inexperi- 
enced volunteer  aid  committees,  no  matter  how  eager, 
patriotic  and  helpful  they  may  prove  Any  other  way 
of  carrying  on  war  relief  save  by  a  well  organized  and 
prepared  Red  Cross  will  prove  equally  unfortunate  and 
will  reflect  seriously  upon  the  practical  common  sense 
and  business-like  ability  of  the  American  people. 


CHAPTER  VI 

REASONS  FOR  REORGANIZATION.  A  NATIONAL  SOCIETY. 
WHAT  IS  THE  AMERICAN  RED  CROSS?  DANGER  IN 
OUR  CHARACTERISTICS. 

THE  time  was  fast  approaching  when  it  was  to  be- 
come evident  that  a  reorganization  of  the  American  Red 
Cross  was  necessary. 

After  its  first  field  of  relief  work  in  the  Ohio  and 
Mississippi  floods  surprise  was  expressed  that  no  state- 
ment as  to  the  receipts  and  expenditures  was  made  pub- 
lic. When  the  Pennsylvania  State  Committee  for  relief 
at  Johnstown  prepared  a  general  report  a  request  was 
made  of  the  President  of  the  Red  Cross  for  an  account 
of  its  receipts  and  expenditures,  which  was  refused  as 
contrary  to  the  policies  of  the  organization,  and  the  only 
information  given  was  to  the  effect  that  $39,000  had  been 
received  and  expended,  leaving  no  balance.  This  atti- 
tude on  the  part  of  the  Red  Cross  officers  alienated  the 
people  of  Philadelphia,  who  proceeded  to  organize  and 
maintain  from  then  on  their  own  permanent  association 
for  relief  after  disasters. 

At  the  time  of  the  Russian  famine  in  1892,  when  an 
appeal  signed  by  Chief  Justice  Fuller  and  Cardinal 
Gibbons  asked  that  contributions  be  sent  to  the  Red 
Cross,  no  financial  report  was  made.  The  Armenian 
Relief  Committee,  which  raised  funds  for  its  relief  work, 
obtained  after  delay  a  report  of  receipts  and  expendi- 
tures which  it  did  not  regard  as  satisfactory.  In  the 
many  reports  of  the  Cuban  and  Spanish  War  relief  work 
there  are  on  file  the  various  committee  treasurers'  finan- 
cial statements,  but  no  statement  of  the  funds  received 
by  the  president  of  the  Red  Cross,  who  was  also  its 
treasurer. 

At  the  outbreak  of  the  war  the  International  Red 

95 


96  UNDER  THE  RED  CROSS  FLAG 

Cross  Committee  of  Geneva,  according  to  its  usual  cus- 
tom, wrote  to  both,  the  Spanish  and  the  American  Red 
Cross,  asking  if  the  assistance  of  the  societies  of  neutral 
countries  was  desired.  On  the  receipt  of  replies  it  issued 
a  circular  saying  that  the  Spanish  Red  Cross  had  de- 
clined, unless  necessary  later,  but  that  "on  the  con- 
trary," the  American  Red  Cross  would  gratefully  re- 
ceive assistance,  and  all  contributions  were  to  be  sent 
to  Miss  Clara  Barton,  president.  As  no  financial  report 
was  made  by  the  national  headquarters,  we  do  not  know 
what  countries  responded  to  the  appeal,  which  hardly 
represented  the  public  sentiment  of  the  American  peo- 
ple in  connection  with,  a  war  of  so  short  duration  and 
involving  comparatively  such  a  small  expenditure.  From 
other  sources,  it  is  learned  that  the  Red  Cross  Societies 
of  France,  Germany,  Austria  and  Portugal  sent  financial 
aid.  The  Russian  Red  Cross,  in  reply  to  this  appeal, 
offered  a  contribution  through  our  State  Department, 
which  our  Government  courteously  declined  to  accept. 
In  June,  1900,  the  American  Red  Cross  was  re-incor- 
porated by  Act  of  Congress  and  the  charter  required 
that  a  financial  statement  should  be  made  annually, 
though  there  was  no  provision  for  an  official  audit.  After 
the  Galveston  disaster  dissensions  arose  over  certain 
expenditures  that  were  not  approved  by  all  of  the  mem- 
bers of  the  Executive  Board.  A  new  Executive  Com- 
mittee was  elected  the  following  year,  but  again  serious 
differences  arose,  leading  in  1903  to  an  actual  cleavage 
in  the  small  membership.  The  following  year  Mr.  Rich- 
ard Olney,  at  the  annual  meeting,  was  requested  to  ap- 
point a  committee  to  investigate  conditions.  This  com- 
mittee consisted  of  Senator  Redfield  Proctor,  chairman; 
Honorable  "William  Alden  Smith,  then  in  the  House  of 
Representatives;  and  General  Fred  C.  Ainsworth,  adju- 
tant general  of  the  army.  The  "Remonstrants,"  as 
those  were  called  who  disapproved  of  the  methods  of  the 
old  organization,  laid  certain  facts  before  this  committee, 


REASONS  FOR  REORGANIZATION          97 

which  decided  to  have  a  Treasury  expert  audit  the  books 
of  the  Society.  With  the  exception  of  the  financial  state- 
ment already  referred  to,  he  found  no  records  save  one 
of  the  Kussian  famine,  which  showed  some  forty-five 
thousand  dollars  received,  but  not  more  than  fifteen 
thousand  expended.  Evidence  was  given  before  the 
committee  showing  that  certain  moneys  contributed  for 
this  famine  relief  were  deposited  in  western  banks  and 
a  portion  expended  in  the  purchase  and  improvement  of 
a  farm,  later  called  the  "Red 'Cross  Park,"  and  which, 
in  an  officially  printed  circular  of  the  Red  Cross,  was 
announced  as  a  gift  to  the  organization.  The  year  follow- 
ing the  Johnstown  disaster,  1890,  nearly  thirty  thousand 
dollars'  worth  of  land  was  purchased  in  Washington,  the 
titles  of  which  stood  in  the  personal  name  of  the  presi- 
dent of  the  association.  At  the  time  that  certain  portions 
of  this  land  were  purchased  a  balance  of  Red  Cross  funds 
for  Johnstown  relief  that  had  been  sent  directly  to  a 
Washington  bank  was  drawn  upon  for  the  amount  paid. 
This  particular  land  had  been  sold,  a  certain  amount 
being  paid  down  and  the  rest  to  be  paid  in  installments. 
These  latter  payments  the  Red  Cross  eventually  secured. 

Mr.  Spencer  Trask,  who  was  chairman  of  the  execu- 
tive committee  of  the  National  Armenian  Relief  Com- 
mittee, in  a  deposition  that  was  laid  before  Senator  Proc- 
tor's  committee,  testified  to  the  unsatisfactory  organiza- 
tion of  the  Red  Cross,  the  indisposition  of  its  then 
managers  to  undertake  any  work  without  burdensome 
guarantees,  and  to  the  serious  lack  of  business  manage- 
ment. 

There  was  also  laid  before  the  committee  on  investi- 
gation a  letter  sent  by  Bishop  Potter  and  other  promi- 
nent men  and  women  who  from  past  experience  with  the 
Red  Cross  were  convinced  of  the  necessity  of  a  reorgani- 
zation : 

' '  The  undersigned  persons  who,  in  times  of  previous 
7 


98  UNDER  THE  RED  CROSS  FLAG 

activities,  and  during  the  war  with  Spain,  have  been 
associated  with  the  American  National  Ked  Cross,  desire 
to  state  that  in  their  judgment  the  financial  arrange- 
ments of  this  association  need  reorganization  in  order  to 
merit  the  confidence  of  the  American  public. 

"They  most  heartily  endorse  the  efforts  now  being 
made  by  some  of  the  prominent  members  of  the  Bed 
Cross  in  Washington  to  thoroughly  reorganize  the  asso- 
ciation, and  to  provide  for  a  careful  and  business-like 
administration  of  its  finances.  (Signed)  Henry  C.  Pot- 
ter, Spencer  Trask,  Robert  C.  Ogden,  Cleveland  H. 
Dodge,  Helen  Fidelia  Draper  (Mrs.  W.  K.  Draper), 
Howard  Townsend,  Elizabeth  Mills  Reid  (Mrs.  White- 
law  Reid),  Sam  Wolverton,  F.  Augs.  Schennerhorn, 
A.  S.  Solomons,  Gustaf  H.  Schwab,  Olivia  M.  Cutting 
(Mrs.  Bayard  Cutting)." 

The  committee  held  only  three  meetings  when  the 
matter  was  settled  by  Miss  Barton's  resignation  and  the 
calling  of  a  special  Red  Cross  meeting,  at  which  such 
officers  as  the  "Remonstrants"  approved  were  elected. 

The  following  autumn  the  old  association  was  dis- 
solved and  a  new  corporation  created  by  Act  of  Congress, 
signed  by  President  Roosevelt  January  5,  1905.  The 
new  charter  provided  that  all  accounts  should  be  audited 
by  the  War  Department  and  an  annual  report  submitted 
to  Congress  by  the  Secretary  of  War.  For  the  first  time 
the  American  Red  Cross  became  truly  national  in  its 
scope  and  standing 

In  each  country  its  respective  Red  Cross  Society  is 
organized  to  suit  local  conditions,  but  the  governing 
body  of  each  is  always  entitled  the  Central  Committee. 
Upon  that  of  the  American  Red  Cross  the  President  of 
the  United  States  appoints  the  chairman  and  represent- 
atives of  the  Department  of  State,  Treasury,  War,  Jus- 
tice and  Navy.  The  incorporators — a  self-perpetuating 
body — elect  six,  and  the  delegates  of  boards,  chapters 
and  affiliated  bodies  elect  six.  This  committee  of  eighteen 


A  NATIONAL  SOCIETY  99 

selects  an  executive  committee  of  seven  from  among  its 
own  members. 

^A.t  the  first  annual  meeting  William  Howard  Taft, 
then  Secretary  of  War,  was  elected  president,  and  this 
office  he  continued  to  occupy  by  annual  elections  after  he 
became  President  of  the  United  States.  In  March,  1913, 
on  retiring  from  the  presidency  he  retired  as  president 
of  the  Red  Cross,  giving  his  reason  in  his  letter  of  resig- 
nation : 

' '  I  was  elected  president  of  the  Red  Cross  in  Decem- 
ber to  succeed  myself.  I  had  been  president  for  four 
years  during  my  incumbency  as  President  of  the  United 
States.  The  cause  which  the  Red  Cross  promotes  is 
greatly  aided,  I  think,  by  having  the  President  of  the 
United  States  at  its  head,  and  I  do  not  think  that  it 
embarrasses  the  incumbent  of  the  office  of  President  of 
the  nation  to  accept  the  office  of  the  head  of  the  Red 
Cross.  It  gives  it  a  standing  abroad  where  its  reputa- 
tion is  most  useful  in  enabling  it  to  carry  out  its  high 
purposes.  I  accepted  the  last  election  with  the  under- 
standing that  when  I  ceased  to  be  President  of  the 
United  States  I  would  resign  the  office,  with  the  hope 
that  President  Wilson  might  accept  it  and  use  the  union 
of  the  two  offices  in  the  same  way  that  I  have  attempted 
to  use  it,  for  the  benefit  of  the  public  of  the  United 
States  and  of  the  world  at  large. 

"  Wherefore,  I  hereby  resign  my  position  as  president 
of  the  Red  Cross,  to  take  effect  upon  the  acceptance  of 
the  same  by  the  central  committee  of  the  Red  Cross. ' ' 

Speaking  of  Mr.  Taft's  resignation  and  his  aid  to 
the  Red  Cross  the  magazine  published  by  the  society 
said  at  the  time : 

"Only  those  who  endured  the  strain  of  the  early 
days  of  reorganization,  who  bore  the  burden  of  the 
many  complex  problems  of  development,  who  battled 
against  discouragement  and  disappointments,  can  com- 
prehend what  the  constant  interest,  the  helpful,  tire- 


100         UNDER  THE  RED  CROSS  FLAG 

less  counsel  and  the  sympathetic  inspiration  of  Mr. 
Taft's  eight  years'  presidency  meant  to  the  Red  Cross. 
He  built  foundations  that  were  true  and  strong  like  the 
man  himself,  not  counting  the  structure  raised  upon 
them  for  the  credit  of  the  man  but  for  the  service  of  his 
fellow-man. 

"Our  people  and  those  in  foreign  lands  who  have 
benefited  because  of  the  American  Red  Cross  owe  to  Mr. 
Taft  a  debt  of  gratitude  for  all  that  he  so  quietly,  so 
modestly  did  to  build  up  its  present  state  of  efficiency 
and  to  obtain  its  position  in  public  confidence." 

The  Central  Committee,  which  has  the  power  of  fill- 
ing vacancies  in  the  interim  between  the  annual  meet- 
ings, asked  President  Wilson  to  accept  the  presidency, 
a  request  to  which  he  promptly  acceded,  writing,  "I 
have  much  pleasure  in  accepting  the  office  of  president  of 
the  American  Red  Cross.  I  warmly  appreciate  the  action 
of  the  Central  Committee."  President  Wilson  has,  like 
President  Taft,  occupied  the  position  of  active  presi- 
dent, for  the  position  is  not  an  honorary  one  as  is  gen- 
erally supposed.  Though  the  chairman  of  the  Central 
Committee  is  the  active  executive  officer,  the  president 
presides  at  part  of  the  annual  meeting,  issues  its  impor- 
tant public  appeals  in  war  or  disaster,  and  appoints  the 
members  of  various  boards. 

Organization  is  a  dry  subject,  but  there  can  be  no 
clear  comprehension  of  the  Red  Cross  without  some 
knowledge  of  its  construction  and  its  methods.  Of 
primary  importance  is  the  fact  that  it  is  not  a  private 
association  created  by  certain  persons  for  benevolent  pur- 
poses, but  that  it  is  the  official  volunteer  aid  department 
of  the  United  States,  so  recognized  by  its  own  Government 
and  by  all  of  the  signatory  powers  of  the  treaty  of 
Geneva. 

The  Central  Committee  forms  a  sort  of  cabinet,  under 
it  coming  three  important  boards  whose  chairmen  and 
vice-chairmen  are  members  of  the  committee.  These 


THREE  IMPORTANT  BOARDS     101 

boards  are  the  War,  National  and  International  Belief 
Boards,  to  each  of  which  have  been  assigned  special 
duties  in  connection  with  its  particular  department  of 
relief  operations.  Policies  are  established  by  these  boards 
in  their  respective  fields  and  recommendations  for  ap- 
propriations made  to  the  Central  or  Executive  Committee, 
which  reserves  to  itself  the  right  to  approve  recommen- 
dations and  appropriate  funds. 

The  chairman  and  vice-chairman  of  the  War  Belief 
Board  are  the  surgeon  generals  of  the  Army  and  Navy. 
Those  of  the  National  Belief  Board  are  members  of  the 
committee  particularly  familiar  with  this  department  of 
its  duties,  and  those  of  the  International  Belief  Board 
are  representatives  of  the  State  Department  and  the 
navy,  as  in  foreign  relief  co-operation  with  the  Navy  is 
often  desirable. 

Under  these  boards  are  various  sub-committees,  the 
medical  bureau,  the  first  aid  department,  the  nursing  ser- 
vice, town  and  country  nursing,  and  the  Christmas  seal. 
State  boards,  consisting  of  from  three  to  ten  prominent 
persons,  constitute  permanent  emergency  finance  com- 
mittees in  each  State,  the  governor  of  the  State  being 
the  chairman. 

Besides  the  State  boards,  there  are  local  organizations 
which  are  called  chapters,  each  with  its  own  officers  and 
members.  The  special  duties  of  the  chapters  are  to  col- 
lect funds  and  supplies  on  an  appeal  from  headquarters 
or  from  the  governor  of  their  respective  State,  and,  in 
case  of  local  disasters,  to  co-operate  with  the  institutional 
member  in  immediate  relief  measures. 

To  provide  a  force  of  trained  assistants  the  Bed  Cross 
has  made  a  number  of  the  most  efficient  charity  organi- 
zations institutional  members,  thereby  obtaining  an 
experienced  personnel  for  service  in  time  of  disaster 
relief. 

The  society  has  affiliated  with  it  certain  other  organi- 
zations, such  as  the  American  Nurses'  Association  and  the 


102         UNDER  THE  RED  CROSS  FLAG 

Needlework  Guild,  which  are  available  for  special  assist- 
ance. The  American  Medical  Association  has  appointed 
a  Red  Cross  Committee  to  assist  the  medical  bureau  of 
the  society. 

The  chairman  of  the  Central  Committee  is  the  active 
executive  officer  of  the  Red  Cross.  It  has  besides  the 
usual  officers  a  general  manager  and  a  national  director. 
The  former  has  particular  charge  of  the  office  and  busi- 
ness part  of  its  work,  and  in  the  absence  or  disability  of 
the  chairman  becomes  acting  chairman.  The  national 
director  has  immediate  control  of  all  disaster  relief 
operations  within  the  United  States  under  the  super- 
vision of  the  National  Relief  Board.  He  has  the  organi- 
zation and  control  of  State  boards  and  chapters,  and  the 
four  assistant  directors  stationed  in  the  Atlantic,  Cen- 
tral, Mountain  and  Pacific  divisions  work  under  his 
instructions. 

A  bureau  of  information,  under  a  bureau  chief, 
keeps  in  close  touch  with  the  work  of  the  various 
branches  of  the  Red  Cross,  issues  a  monthly  magazine, 
supplies  information  to  inquirers,  and  advises  the  pub- 
lic generally  of  the  nature  and  progress  of  Red  Cross 
activities. 

This  in  brief  is  the  organization  structure  of  the 
American  Red  Cross.  It  is  the  outcome  of  careful  study 
of  foreign  Red  Cross  organizations  and  home  conditions, 
and  it  possesses  the  healthy  power  of  future  growth 
and  development. 

We  Americans  are  considered  a  curious  combina- 
tion of  practical,  business-like  common  sense  and  strongly 
developed  sentiment.  We  possess  remarkable  powers  of 
organization  and  initiative,  but  we  are  too  much  given 
to  over-confidence  in  such  powers.  We  are  apt  to  become 
opportunists,  believing  that  we  can  be  found  equal  to 
any  emergency  upon  demand  and  that  preparation  for 
something  that  has  not  yet  occurred  is  a  waste  of  time 
and  energy.  In  this  we  reveal  our  lack  of  maturity  and 


DANGER  IN  OUR  CHARACTERISTICS      103 

show  neither  wisdom  nor  common  sense.  We  are  not 
content  to  build  a  fire-engine  after  a  fire  has  begun  nor 
to  depend  upon  a  hastily  organized  fire  brigade,  for 
we  have  been  taught  by  bitter  experience  the  danger  and 
the  cost.  Neither  do  we  call  in  a  layman  to  cure  our 
bodily  ills  or  settle  our  legal  difficulties,  and  yet  we 
are  inclined,  in  such  matters  as  organization  to  meet 
emergencies,  to  believe  that  the  length  of  our  purse  will 
make  up  for  want  of  preparation  and  enthusiasm  take 
the  place  of  training  and  experience.  It  is  a  happy- 
go-lucky  way  of  living  that  in  the  end  causes  not  only 
waste  and  inefficiency  but  which  may  either  leave  thou- 
sands in  need  of  aid,  suffering  because  of  lack  of  method, 
or  demoralized  by  misapplied  generosity. 

Great  wars  are  not  likely  to  occur  more  than  once  in 
a  generation  in  any  one  country,  and  the  experience 
gained  at  such  a  time,  unless  preserved  in  the  methods 
and  policies  of  a  permanent  organization,  become  lost  for 
future  benefit.  Similar  disasters  rarely  afflict  the  same 
community  within  many  decades,  and  those  trained  at  the 
cost  of  local  misfortune  are  seldom  available  for  service 
at  a  remote  distance.  Again  there  is  apparent  the  need 
of  a  permanent  organization  which  can  immediately 
provide  experts  in  relief  methods  to  aid  and  direct  com- 
munities suffering  from  some  sudden  great  calamity. 

Let  us  have  the  wisdom  to  recognize  the  danger  of 
these  certain  national  characteristics  and  overcome  them 
by  the  virtue  of  our  practical  common  sense. 


CHAPTER  VII 

HOW  IN  PEACE  WE  PREPARE  FOR  WAR.  HUMAN  SAC- 
RIFICES ON  THE  ALTAR  OF  INDUSTRY.  TOLLS  THAT 
NEPTUNE  TAKES.  FIELD  COLUMNS  AND  WAR 
ORDERS.  NEWS  FROM  THE  FRONT. 

THE  geographical  situation  of  the  United  States  of 
America  has  been  its  greatest  safeguard  against  war,  but, 
in  spite  of  our  almost  immune  condition,  during  the  last 
century  we  were  involved  in  four  different  wars,  and 
since  the  beginning  of  the  twentieth  century  more  than 
once  war  clouds  have  gathered  on  the  horizon.  We 
cannot  witness  this  present  world-wide  conflict  without 
realizing  that  no  millenium  is  yet  at  hand  and  that 
behind  the  curtain  that  fate  holds  closed  before  our 
future  there  may  lie  grim  battlefields  with  all  their 
horrors  of  desolation,  suffering  and  death. 

To  attempt,  however,  to  maintain  a  Red  Cross  in  this 
country  to  be  prepared  for  war  only  would  be  futile.  In 
fact,  even  in  the  most  military  of  nations  peace  activi- 
ties are  necessary  to  keep  up  public  interest  and  the 
society 's  efficiency.  The  good  right  arm  if  tied  for  years 
inactive  to  the  side  will  prove  utterly  useless  in  the  end 
when  it  is  called  upon  for  work. 

How  then  in  America  can  we  maintain  an  efficient 
Red  Cross,  ready  "to  furnish  volunteer  aid  to  the  sick 
and  wounded  of  armies  in  time  of  war  in  accordance  with 
the  spirit  and  conditions  of  the  conference  of  Geneva?" 
There  occur  from  time  to  time  great  calamities  requir- 
ing relief  operations  that  are  quite  akin  to  war  relief, 
and  an  organization  prepared  to  deal  with  war  would 
be  best  fitted  to  deal  with  disasters.  Therefore,  at  such  a 
time  the  use  of  the  Red  Cross  proves  of  double  value. 
On  the  one  hand,  it  provides  trained  and  experienced 
104 


HOW  IN  PEACE  WE  PREPARE  FOR  WAR   105 

assistance,  and,  on  the  other,  it  exercises  the  society  in 
functions  that  develop  its  abilities  and  render  it  fit  to 
cope  with  the  demands  of  military  conflicts. 

It  is  most  difficult  for  the  American  people  to  com- 
prehend war  conditions  and  regulations.  Certain 
remarkable  privileges  are  granted  to  the  army  and  navy 
medical  service  and  to  "the  volunteer  aid  societies  duly 
recognized  and  authorized  by  their  respective  govern- 
ments," under  the  treaty  of  Geneva.  Each  signatory 
power,  therefore,  becomes  responsible  for  its  volunteer 
aid  society  and  the  personnel  of  the  same. 

For  this  reason  it  is  essential  that  there  exist  at  all 
times  a  permanent  organization,  under  such  government 
supervision  as  will  insure,  in  the  event  of  war,  its  ful- 
filling international  obligations.  For  this  reason  the 
President  of  the  United  States,  through  the  medium  of 
the  Department  of  State,  issued  a  special  proclamation 
in  August,  1911,  calling  attention  to  the  status  of  the 
American  Red  Cross: 

"Now,  therefore,  I,  William  H.  Taft,  President  of 
the  United  States,  by  virtue  of  the  authority  in  me  vested, 
do  hereby  declare  and  proclaim — 

"That  the  American  National  Red  Cross  is  the  only 
volunteer  society  now  authorized  by  this  Government  to 
render  aid  to  its  land  and  naval  forces  in  time  of  war. 

"That  any  other  society  desiring  to  render  similar 
assistance  can  do  so  only  through  the  American  National 
Red  Cross." 

The  rest  of  the  proclamation  is  devoted  to  specific 
regulations  regarding  the  Red  Cross  relationship  to  the 
Army  and  Navy  Departments. 

In  this  public  order  there  is  no  intention  of  monopo- 
lizing war  relief,  but  to  bring  it  under  proper  regulation 
and  control.  In  case  of  war  the  Government  does  not 
permit  individual  companies  or  regiments  to  be  organ- 
ized to  assist  in  the  fighting  nor  is  privateering  allowed 
at  sea.  Responsibility  under  a  national  treaty  makes  it 


106         UNDER  THE  RED  CROSS  FLAG 

obligatory  on  the  part  of  the  Government  to  see  that  its 
volunteer  relief  operations  are  in  the  hands  of  an  organi- 
zation over  which  it  has  supervision  and  in  whose 
training  and  reliability  it  can  repose  absolute  confidence. 

In  time  of  war  volunteer  aid  divides  itself  mainly 
into  two  classes,  personnel  and  supplies.  The  United 
States  Army  has  a  medical  reserve  corps,  but  in  a  war 
of  any  magnitude  its  numbers  could  not  meet  the  de- 
mands. At  such  a  time  of  sudden  stress,  thousands  of 
surgeons  and  physicians  volunteer  whose  character, 
training  and  experience  are  not  up  to  the  standard  that 
should  be  maintained  in  this  humanitarian  service.  Too 
often  have  the  sick  and  wounded  soldiers,  helpless  in 
themselves,  been  left  to  the  inadequate  care  of  such  men. 
To  obviate  a  repetition  of  these  conditions  and  to  sup- 
plement the  Army  Eeserve  Corps  the  medical  bureau  of 
the  Red  Cross,  in  co-operation  with  the  Red  Cross 
County  Committees  of  the  American  Medical  Associa- 
tion, is  prepared  to  furnish  a  personnel  for  whose  fit- 
ness and  standing  after  careful  investigation  it  is  ready 
to  vouch.  The  medical  service  is  available  for  relief 
when  serious  disasters  occur,  but  this  field  of  activity 
is  not  frequent  enough  to  warrant  supporting  a  standing 
organization.  It  should  be  made  of  use  in  the  daily  life 
of  the  country,  and  this  is  what  the  Red  Cross  does. 

About  ninety  thousand  fatal  accidents  occur  annu- 
ally in  the  United  States.  To  these  may  be  added  at  a 
conservative  estimate  a  half  million  which  result  in  dis- 
ability for  work,  and  some  two  million  which  cause  tem- 
porary incapacity.  Statistics  show  that  some  sixty-six 
per  cent,  of  these  accidents  are  due  to  negligence  and 
thirty-four  per  cent,  to  inevitable  risk.  Such  appalling 
records  appear  to  the  Red  Cross  as  evidence  of  nothing 
less  than  a  public  calamity  of  the  gravest  nature.  We 
are  constantly  congratulating  ourselves  on  the  progress 
science  is  making  against  disease.  Typhoid  fever  does 
not  compare  with  accidents  as  a  cause  of  death,  yet  by 


SACRIFICES  ON  ALTAR  OF  INDUSTRY  107 

scientific  means  it  is  steadily  decreasing  while  accidents 
are  constantly  increasing.  The  prevention  of  accidents 
and  of  the  unfortunate  results  of  accidents  is  just  as 
important  as  the  prevention  of  disease.  How  can  this  be 
brought  about?  By  the  education  of  the  public,  by  the 
use  of  safety  devices  and  by  instructions  in  accident  pre- 
vention and  first  aid.  This  work  appeals  to  the  employer 
of  labor,  both  from  the  humane  and  the  economic  point 
of  view.  In  the  first  issue  of  the  Red  Cross  text-book  on 
first  aid, ' '  dedicated  to  the  industrial  army  of  the  United 
States  of  America,"  the  late  Surgeon  General  O'Reilly 
in  the  preface  said  that  he  knew  of  no  other  book  on  this 
subject  that  gave  so  much  thought  to  teaching  the  pre- 
vention of  accidents,  "as  the  beneficent  mission  of  the 
Red  Cross,  like  that  of  the  good  physician  in  disease, 
should  be  to  go  deeply  into  the  causes  which  are  respon- 
sible for  the  physical  sufferings  of  humanity  rather  than 
to  resort  solely  to  palliative  measures. ' ' 

The  best  work  along  these  lines  of  accident  preven- 
tion and  first  aid  instructions  has  been  done  among  the 
miners.  Winter's  cold  is  driven  from  our  homes,  our 
offices,  our  schools  and  churches ;  hither  and  thither  over 
the  country  huge  engines  are  constantly  dragging  trains 
loaded  with  multitudes  of  passengers  and  thousands  of 
tons  of  merchandise  and  supplies;  innumerable  great 
machines  are  whirring  throughout  the  land  in  the  tur- 
moil of  its  industrial  life, —  all  these  depending  upon  the 
agency  of  coal.  What  demands  on  human  life  does  this 
black  giant  make?  Slain  annually  on  the  altar  of  this 
industrial  Moloch  are  3260  miners,  and  9000  more  lie 
maimed  and  crippled  on  the  altar  steps.  In  1907  there 
was  one  death  for  every  144,000  tons  of  coal  mined. 
Five  years  later  there  were  244,000  tons  of  coal  mined 
for  one  human  sacrifice,  showing  that  progress  had  been 
made. 

Into  this  field  of  daily  usefulness  went  the  Red  Cross 
to  teach  the  lessons  of  prevention  and  first  aid.  The 


108         UNDER  THE  RED  CROSS  FLAG 

Government  Bureau  of  Mines  gave  enthusiastic  co-op- 
eration in  every  way;  Dr.  Holmes,  its  director,  became 
a  member  of  the  first  aid  committee.  To  mining  com- 
panies and  miners  it  appealed  alike.  Major  Charles 
Lynch,  the  army  medical  officer  detailed  to  be  the  chief 
of  the  Eed  Cross  Medical  Bureau,  entered  into  the  work 
with  the  conviction  that  no  greater  service  could  be 
rendered  to  humanity  than  this  work  for  the  men  of  our 
industrial  world.  He  prepared  a  special  first-aid  text- 
book for  miners  which  has  been  translated  into  Slovack, 
Polack,  Lithuanian  and  Italian.  Classes  of  volunteers 
were  formed  among  the  miners,  who,  living  amidst  con- 
stant danger,  were  keenly  alive  to  the  value  of  such 
instructions.  When  a  sudden  accident  occurs  at  the 
distant  end  of  a  long  gallery  a  mile  or  more  from  the 
shaft  his  comrades'  knowledge  of  first  aid  may  mean  life 
or  death  to  the  injured  man.  In  the  miners'  text-book 
special  emphasis  is  laid  upon  prevention,  and  many  a 
wise  precaution  is  given  to  firemen,  miner,  laborer,  run- 
ner, driver,  door-boy,  footman  or  eager.  Terse  sen- 
tences there  are  that  to  the  layman's  mind  speak  in  rid- 
dles but  are  clear  to  the  miner.  ' '  Don 't  put  sulphur  and 
gas  squids  into  the  same  place."  "Don't  allow  driver 
to  make  flying  switches."  A  score  of  pictures  show  the 
wrong  way  of  doing  things  and  their  dangerous  or  fatal 
results.  To  encourage  the  men,  competitions  between 
teams  from  different  mines  are  held  after  a  preliminary 
contest  has  taken  place  to  select  the  best  team  from 
each  company.  On  a  race-track  or  a  ball  park  or  in  some 
open  field  near  the  mines  these  competitions  generally 
take  place.  Thousands  of  spectators  gather  round  or 
fill  the  stands  of  the  park  or  track.  There  are  the  miners' 
wives,  with  the  children  clinging  to  their  skirts  and  the 
babies  in  their  arms.  How  often  has  fear  clutched  their 
hearts  when  the  word  goes  out  of  an  accident  at  the 
mines.  There  are  hundreds  of  the  miners,  each  ready  to 
cheer  for  the  team  of  his  own  company  as  enthusiast!- 


SACRIFICES  ON  ALTAR  OF  INDUSTRY  109 

cally  as  the  fans  of  the  baseball  world,  the  keenness  of 
their  interest  teaching  them,  unconsciously  as  they  watch, 
many  a  helpful  lesson.  Those  that  come  from  distant 
States  are  accompanied  by  mine  officials,  as  eager  for 
the  success  of  their  teams  as  the  men  themselves.  An 
atmosphere  of  tragedy  is  in  the  air.  Onto  the  field  in  a 
long  procession  march  the  men  from  a  dozen  different 
States  and  a  score  of  different  mines.  Every  man  is  in 
his  miner's  clothes,  and  many  a  group  have  their  little 
lamps  lighted  in  their  caps.  Each  team  consists  of  four 
or  five  miners,  with  another  for  a  subject.  A  box  of 
first  aid  supplies  is  carried  by  one;  crowbars,  pieces  of 
board  and  other  objects  for  improvised  splints  by 
others.  The  judges,  frequently  army  surgeons,  are 
ready,  score  cards  in  hand,  for  each  feature  in  first  aid 
receives  so  many  marks  to  its  credit,  according  to  the 
way  it  is  done.  There  they  stand,  those  groups  of  ear- 
nest faced  miners.  Long  hours  have  they  given  to  their 
training,  and  whether  they  win  or  lose  the  prize  they 
have  won  a  better  thing — the  knowledge  of  how  to  save 
a  fellow -man's  life.  To  the  captain  of  each  team  is 
handed  a  sealed  envelope  containing  a  paper  giving  the 
nature  of  the  first  aid  accident  they  are  to  treat.  At  a 
signal  this  is  opened  while  one  of  the  judges  reads  the 
problem  aloud.  It  is  given  as  though  applicable  to  an 
actual  accident.  Some  require  one  or  two  men  to  under- 
take the  first  aid,  and  others  the  entire  team. 

"Full  team.  After  a  fall  of  roof  and  gas  explosion 
the  miner  has  suffered  the  following:  A  compound  frac- 
ture of  right  thigh,  compound  fracture  of  left  arm,  with 
bleeding  in  jets,  bright  red  in  color,  and  is  severely 
burned  about  the  face  and  arms.  Five  men  to  dress  and 
carry  over  steam  pipe  and  track,  under  trolley  wire,  up 
breaker  steps,  over  prop  pile,  over  loaded  mine  car 
and  place  in  ambulance.  Time  allowed,  fifteen  minutes. " 

Often  the  competition  ends  with  a  mine  accident 
depicted  in  a  realistic  and  dramatic  way.  At  a  contest 


110         UNDER  THE  RED  CROSS  FLAG 

between  Wilkes-Barre  and  Scranton  a  few  years  ago 
the  facsimile  of  a  mine  was  built  above  ground.  The 
miners  were  seen  busily  at  work  with  their  pickaxes;  a 
blinding  flash  of  light  and  an  explosion,  followed  by 
the  falling  roof;  the  groaning  of  the  burned  and  in- 
jured men.  Suddenly  arose  the  pathetic  cry  of  a  Welch 
miner,  who  came  to  their  assistance, ' '  Come  quick,  there 's 
a  man  hurted. ' '  A  cry  that  goes  to  the  heart  of  the  Red 
Cross  and  to  which  it  seeks  to  respond,  that  cry  for  the 
conservation  of  human  life. 

With  the  work  progressing  well  among  the  miners, 
the  Red  Cross  turned  its  attention  to  the  needs  of 
the  railroad  men.  During  the  Civil  War  110,070  were 
killed  in  the  Federal  Army  and  275,175  wounded.  From 
1888  to  1907  153,366  were  killed  by  the  railroads,  and 
1,042,486  injured.  During  1913  one  railroad  employee 
was  killed  every  two  hours  and  forty-one  minutes,  and 
every  four  minutes  one  was  injured. 

With  statistics  such  as  these  there  can  be  no  doubt  of 
the  need  of  safety  and  first  aid  instructions  among  rail- 
road employees.  To  carry  on  this  work  the  Red  Cross 
has  two  special  cars  donated  by  the  Pullman  Company. 
On  each  car  there  is  a  doctor  who  has  been  trained  to 
understand  railroad  conditions  and  accidents,  to  instruct 
the  men  in  a  simple  and  non-technical  manner  and  to 
drill  them  to  do  the  work  themselves,  using  often  impro- 
vised splints  and  stretchers.  The  cars  are  equipped  with 
first  aid  material  for  teaching,  and  the  main  body  forms 
a  small  lecture  room,  which,  however,  is  rarely  large 
enough  for  the  size  of  the  audience.  The  railroads  carry 
the  cars  free,  and  special  arrangements  are  made  to  stop 
at  points  where  there  are  a  large  number  of  employees. 
The  doctors  on  the  cars  have  time  to  do  little  more  than 
start  classes  whose  instructions  are  continued  by  the 
railroad  or  other  doctors.  Interest  is  aroused  by  a  mass 
meeting,  with  music,  and  addresses  from  the  superinten- 
dent and  others  on  safety,  at  the  end  of  which  the  doctor 


SACRIFICES  ON  ALTAR  OF  INDUSTRY  111 

gives  a  demonstration  of  first  aid  for  accidents  with 
which  the  men  are  familiar.  Quick  to  grasp  its  import- 
ance, they  murmiir  to  their  neighbors,  "What  a  dif- 
ference it  would  have  made  to  Jack  if  he  had  been  car- 
ried that  way.  I  guess  he  wouldn't  have  lost  his  leg." 
Or,  "If  I  had  known  that  I  might  have  saved  poor 
Bill's  life." 

These  cars  have  traveled  over  many  thousands  of 
miles,  and  many  thousands  of  employees  have  been 
trained  and  drilled,  but  as  yet  only  a  beginning  has 
been  made  in  the  way  of  competitions  among  railroad 
men.  The  interest,  however,  will  grow,  as  it  has  among 
miners,  until  such  contests  are  held  frequently  between 
picked  teams  representing  important  railroads.  For 
all  such  contests  the  Red  Cross  is  ready  to  give  its  ser- 
vice and  to  provide  bronze  medals  for  the  winning  teams. 

Unfortunately  the  vital  statistics  of  our  country  are 
as  yet  far  from  perfect,  and  no  data  concerning  accidents 
in  the  lumber  industry  can  be  obtained.  There  are 
some  800,000  men  engaged  in  this  field  of  industry.  If 
the  statistics  of  the  State  of  Washington  hold  good 
throughout  the  country,  1,920  men  are  killed,  8,256  per- 
manently partially  disabled,  and  over  70,000  suffer  from 
serious  temporary  injuries  annually.  There  is  almost  no 
labor  utilized  in  the  lumber  industries  that  has  not  some 
danger  involved  in  it.  The  sharp  edge  of  the  axe,  the 
jagged  teeth  of  the  saw  in  a  moment  may  cause  a  wound 
where  unchecked  hemorrhage  will  result  in  certain  death. 
Physicians  have  signed  many  a  death  certificate  of 
men  who  bled  to  death  from  slight  injuries  and  whose 
lives  might  have  been  saved  by  some  knowledge  of  first 
aid.  The  application  of  cobwebs  or  some  such  traditional 
remedy  or  the  use  of  soiled  rags  often  produce  infection 
with  crippling  or  fatal  results.  There  lurks  danger  in 
the  falling  tree,  in  the  handling  of  logs  at  the  skidway 
or  the  loading  of  the  trains.  The  hardships  to  which  the 
log  drivers  are  exposed  and  the  great  personal  danger 


112    UNDER  THE  RED  CROSS  FLAG 

in  the  excitement  of  freeing  jammed  logs  when  a  single 
mis-step  may  mean  the  crushing  out  of  life  or  drowning 
in  the  waters  below,  are  familiar  from  the  graphic 
descriptions  of  the  story  teller's  pen.  Nor  does  the  dan- 
ger end  with  the  logging,  for  the  sawmills,  with  their 
powerful,  sharpedged  machinery,  add  their  quota  to  the 
number  of  yearly  accidents.  One  who  knows  well  the  lum- 
ber man's  life,  wrote:  "Logging  is  a  hazardous  life  at 
the  very  best,  and  calls  for  strong,  dare-devil  men,  men 
who  are  willing  to  take  chances.  Danger  is  always  pres- 
ent, and  men  become  so  used  to  it  that  they  get  careless. 
This,  however,  is  no  excuse  for  needless  loss  of  life  or 
limb."  He  commends  "the  benefit  of  co-operative  ef- 
fort in  conserving  human  life  and  in  protecting  the  bread 
winners,  upon  whom  depend  the  life  and  happiness  of  so 
large  a  population. ' ' 

Into  these  lumber  camps  the  Bed  Cross  is  pushing 
its  way  that  it  may  help  to  conserve  the  lives  of  the 
lumber-jacks  of  the  country. 

There  is  probably  no  calling  that  so  constantly  comes 
in  contact  with  accidents  as  that  of  the  policeman.  No 
sooner  does  the  crowd  begin  to  collect  about  the  vic- 
tim of  an  accident  in  the  street  than  the  blue-coated  offi- 
cer puts  in  an  appearance  and  takes  charge  of  the  situ- 
ation. His  own  p'osition  is  a  hazardous  one  and  not  with- 
out its  personal  danger;  so  both  for  the  public  and  his 
own  benefit  the  policeman  should  be  trained  in  first  aid. 

The  firemen  are  also  in  frequent  danger  and  in  fre- 
quent touch  with  accidents.  In  his  textbook  for  policemen 
and  firemen  Major  Lynch  says : ' '  Moreover,  it  has  always 
been  my  feeling  that  if  our  Red  Cross  in  its  object  of 
reducing  human  suffering  could  be  of  any  service  in  this 
direction  to  our  local  guardians  of  law  and  order  and 
to  our  protectors  from  the  danger  of  fire,  it  was  specially 
obligated  to  do  so." 

After  studying  such  instructions  in  Europe,  Major 
Lynch  wrote  to  all  the  police  and  fire  departments  of  our 


TOLLS  THAT  NEPTUNE  TAKES          113 

larger  cities,  and  received  such  universal  commendation 
that  the  special  textbook  was  prepared.  Instructions 
have  been  given  in  certain  of  our  cities,  but  such  know- 
ledge should  be  made  a  necessary  qualification  for  en- 
rollment in  both  of  these  important  public  services. 
Only  two  hours  after  receiving  one  of  these  lessons  two 
police  officers  discovered  a  man,  who  in  a  serious  accident, 
had  cut  a  large  blood  vessel.  Sending  someone  to  sum- 
mon a  hospital  ambulance,  they  applied  their  recently 
acquired  knowledge  to  stopping  the  bleeding.  The  man 
recovered,  but  had  this  first  aid  not  been  rendered  the 
doctor,  when  he  arrived,  would  have  found  his  help  too 
late.  It  is  almost  extraordinary  how  promptly  what  has 
been  taught  is  often  put  into  practice.  At  Oswego,  New 
York,  the  chief  of  the  fire  department  wrote  Dr.  Shields, 
one  of  the  first  aid  doctors:  "The  instructions  received 
by  my  men  at  your  interesting  lecture  on  March  30th 
were  the  means  of  restoring  back  to  life  of  two  of  our 
firemen  who  were  overcome  by  dense  smoke  the  day 
following  your  lecture.  My  men  and  myself  cannot  ex- 
press too  strongly  our  appreciation  of  the  help  you  gave 
us.  You  are  doing  a  great  and  noble  work  for  the 
country. ' ' 

Among  the  companies  who  realized  the  value  of  first 
aid  instructions  have  been  the  Western  Union  and  Bell 
Telephone.  On  request  the  Red  Cross  has  given  to  thou- 
sands of  their  employees  courses  in  first  aid  particularly 
adapted  to  their  dangers,  including  the  safest  way  for 
the  men  to  work  to  rescue  a  person  in  contact  with  a  live 
wire  and  how  to  resuscitate  him. 

The  seamen  are  another  class  of  men  who  need  first 
aid  instructions.  These  men  by  the  hundreds  go  down 
into  the  deep  on  the  whaling  and  the  fishing  fleets  and 
on  the  many  freighters  that  dot  the  surface  of  the  sea. 
For  weeks,  and  often  months,  they  are  remote  from 
medical  aid  in  case  of  accident  or  illness.  In  England  no 
master  or  mate  is  allowed  his  license  unless  he  has  his 
8 


114    UNDER  THE  RED  CROSS  FLAG 

first  aid  certificate.  Section  118  of  the  United  States 
Navigation  Laws  requires:  "Every  vessel  belonging  to 
a  citizen  of  the  United  States  bound  from,  a  port  in  the 
United  States  to  any  foreign  port,  or  being  of  the  burden 
of  seventy-five  tons  or  upward  and  bound  from  a  port  of 
the  Atlantic  to  a  port  of  the  Pacific,  or  vice  versa,  shall 
be  provided  with  a  chest  of  medicine."  The  rest  of  the 
section  relates  to  the  use  of  lime  or  lemon  juice.  No 
mention  is  made  as  to  the  contents  of  the  chest  nor 
whether  anyone  on  board  should  know  how  to  use  the 
contents. 

Classes  in  first  aid  for  seamen  have  been  held  by  the 
Red  Cross  at  the  Seamen 's  Institute  in  New  York,  and  at 
San  Francisco.  These  rovers  of  the  world  are  not  often 
long  enough  in  port  for  many  consecutive  lessons,  but 
by  making  each  lesson  as  complete  in  itself  as  possible 
and  by  giving  them  to  the  intelligent  masters  and  mates 
much  good  may  be  accomplished. 

Instructions  for  seamen  include  something  more  than 
those  in  first  aid.  An  effort  is  made  to  impart  a  little 
knowledge  as  to  the  treatment  of  illness.  When  sickness 
develops  many  days  away  from  port  much  can  be  done  by 
even  elementary  knowledge.  Familiar  among  sailors  is 
the  story  of  the  captain  who  explained  that  he  had  a 
book  which  described  different  symptoms  giving  a  num- 
ber for  the  bottle  of  the  remedy  suitable  to  each  case. 
The  symptoms  in  a  particular  case  called  for  number 
nine,  but  as  this  bottle  was  empty  the  captain  took  a 
mixture  of  numbers  four  and  five,  with  the  resultant 
decease  of  the  patient. 

Neptune  from  his  caverns  under  the  sea  demands  his 
toll  of  human  life,  and  many  a  beautiful  lake  nestling 
among  the  wooded  hills  holds  the  story  of  some  tragic 
fate.  Between  six  and  seven  thousand  lives,  including 
suicides,  are  lost  every  year  in  the  waters  of  the  United 
States.  When  some  great  vessel  sinks  with  its  freight  of 
human  lives  the  world  shudders  with  horror  over  the 


TOLLS  THAT  NEPTUNE  TAKES          115 

catastrophe,  but  it  thinks  little  of  the  numberless  drown- 
ings  that  occur,  one  by  one,  day  after  day,  aggregating 
many  fold  more  than  those  sacrificed  in  the  steamer's 
loss.  Under  the  First  Aid  Department  a  life-saving 
branch  has  been  organized,  and  along  our  docks  in  sea- 
coast,  lake  and  river  cities  an  instructor  has  been  occu- 
pied in  organizing  life-saving  corps  among  men  and  boys, 
teaching  them  to  swim,  to  rescue  a  drowning  person  and 
to  resuscitate  him.  When  a  swimmer  can  tow  a  person 
of  his  own  weight  ten  yards,  knows  how  to  release  him- 
self when  grasped  by  a  frightened  victim,  and  can  pass 
various  other  tests,  a  medal  is  awarded  him.  Large  num- 
bers of  dock  hands,  sailors,  yachtsmen,  and  boys  have 
joined  these  classes,  which  have  already  proved  their 
practical  value  in  the  saving  of  life.  The  Red  Cross 
has  received  active  co-operation  in  all  this  first  aid  work 
from  the  Young  Men 's  Christian  Association,  which  has 
organized  and  carried  on  instructions  among  large  num- 
bers of  men.  A  joint  certificate  is  issued  to  those  who 
pass  the  examinations. 

What  practical  connection  there  is  between  this  first 
aid  instruction  and  preparation  for  war  relief  may  be 
at  first  difficult  to  understand,  until  a  study  is  made  of 
the  war  department  circular  outlining  the  duties  and 
regulations  of  the  American  Red  Cross  in  time  of  war. 
' '  The  American  National  Red  Cross  having  been  author- 
ized by  the  act  of  Congress  to  render  aid  to  the  land  and 
naval  forces  in  time  of  actual  or  threatened  war,  the 
following  regulations  governing  the  status,  organization 
and  operations  of  this  society  when  employed  with  the 
land  forces,  having  received  the  approval  of  the  president, 
are  published  for  the  information  and  guidance  of  all 
concerned:"  These  regulations  are  embodied  in  twenty 
different  sections.  Red  Cross  units  constitute  part  of  the 
sanitary  service  of  the  Army.  The  personnel  reporting 
for  active  duty  become  subject  to  military  laws  and  will 
receive  the  brassard  and  a  certificate  of  identity.  The 


116    UNDER  THE  RED  CROSS  FLAG 

personnel  will  be  employed  in  base  hospitals,  on  hospital 
trains  and  ships  and  along  lines  of  communication.  Inde- 
pendent hospitals  and  organizations  are  not  to  be  estab- 
lished except  under  the  direction  of  medical  officers  of 
the  Army.  The  personnel  that  may  be  required  consists 
of  physicians,  surgeons,  dentists,  pharmacists,  nurses, 
clerks,  cooks,  hospital  orderlies,  litter  bearers,  drivers 
and  laborers.  These  will  be  formed  into  field,  hospital, 
and  supply  columns.  A  field  column  consists  of  a  direc- 
tor and  four  assistant  directors,  who  must  be  surgeons  or 
physicians,  and  eighty-four  men,  a  certain  number  of 
whom  are  section  chiefs.  The  training  of  these  field 
columns  includes  instructions  in  first  aid,  elementary  hy- 
giene and  hospital  corps  drill.  The  personnel  must  be 
familiar  with  appliances  for  transporting  sick  and 
wounded,  such  as  litters  and  ambulances,  with  the  fitting 
up  of  trains  and  ships  for  patients  and  other  similar 
duties.  Experience  has  shown  the  difficulty  of  securing 
upon  the  outbreak  of  war  men  fitted  for  the  duties  devolv- 
ing upon  the  hospital  corps  and  litter  bearers.  Those  that 
the  Red  Cross  has  trained  in  first  aid  will  provide  most 
valuable  material  upon  which  to  draw  for  these  hospital 
columns.  Such  men,  with  surgeons  as  medical  directors 
and  medical  students  as  chiefs,  can  in  a  comparatively 
short  time  be  drilled  into  efficient  field  columns.  Hence, 
the  value  of  this  department  of  the  Red  Cross  for  war 
preparations.  Members  of  these  columns  wear  a  uniform 
of  forest  green  that  has  been  approved  by  the  War  De- 
partment and  which  the  surgeons,  doctors  and  sanitary 
inspectors  whom  the  Red  Cross  has  sent  to  Europe  have 
worn. 

Hospital  columns  consist  of  three  sections :  a  director, 
three  assistant  directors,  and  fifty-one  nurses.  These  will 
be  utilized  in  base  hospitals,  upon  hospital  trains  and 
ships. 

The  extension  of  first  aid  instructions  led  to  the 
demand  for  first  aid  supplies.  To  meet  this  situation 


NEWS  FROM  THE  FRONT  117 

and  also  to  prepare  a  nucleus  for  the  all-important 
department  in  charge  of  material  gifts  in  time  of  war,  a 
supply  division,  under  an  experienced  pharmacist,  has 
been  organized.  From  this  division  boxes  with  con- 
tents suitable  to  various  accidents  of  household,  school, 
factory,  railroad  and  mines,  as  well  as  those  for  the  life- 
saving  corps,  are  obtained. 

In  case  of  war  a  number  of  collecting  stations  will 
be  established  in  different  parts  of  the  country  upon 
which  the  large  distributing  warehouses  will  make  requi- 
sitions for  the  kind  and  character  of  supplies  used  in 
the  sanitary  service. 

There  appears  to  be  no  limit  to  the  sufferings  war 
inflicts,  and  perhaps  there  are  none  harder  to  bear  than 
the  agony  and  suspense  over  the  fate  of  some  loved  one 
in  the  fighting  line.  To  lighten  this  pathetic  burden,  to 
bring  the  news  from  the  front,  the  Red  Cross  accepts 
a  still  further  duty.  It  is  placed  in  charge  of  informa- 
tion by  the  War  Department  regulations.  The  Informa- 
tion Bureau  of  the  Society  that  keeps  the  public  informed 
of  Red  Cross  activities  by  means  of  the  press  and  the 
monthly  magazines  will  in  war  immediately  expand  into 
a  very  active  department,  its  sections  composed  of  clerks, 
stenographers  and  typewriters  under  directors  will  be 
stationed  at  army  headquarters  in  the  field  to  forward 
information  concerning  the  sick  and  wounded,  the  pris- 
oners and  dead  to  relatives  and  friends.  The  inquiry  of 
the  poor  distracted  mother  about  her  wounded  son  that  the 
busy  colonel  of  his  regiment  has  no  time  to  answer  will 
not  remain  unheeded.  The  soldier  too  ill  to  write  him- 
self may  by  this  aid  send  a  letter  of  comfort  from  his 
hospital  bed,  and  the  final  story  of  some  brave  life,  often 
so  longed  for  by  the  aching  hearts  at  home,  will  not  be 
lost. 


CHAPTER  VIII 

NURSING  IN  THE  CIVIL  WAR.  THE  FIRST  AMERICAN 
TRAINING  SCHOOL.  THE  RED  CROSS  NURSING  SERV- 
ICE. THE  SENTIMENTAL  AMATEUR.  LOVE  OF  AD- 
VENTURE VERSUS  HUMANITY  AND  PATRIOTISM. 
WHAT  THE  LAY  WOMAN  CAN  DO.  THE  TRUE  NURSE 
AND  HER  QUALIFICATIONS.  ORGANIZATION  AND 
MOBILIZATION.  USE  AND  NUMBER  IN  FIRE,  FLOOD 
AND  PESTILENCE. 

IN  order  to  carry  out  the  provisions  for  mitigating 
the  sufferings  of  the  sick  and  wounded  the  committee 
that  drafted  the  treaty  of  Geneva  passed  resolutions 
recommending  that  the  duties  of  the  permanent  com- 
mittees for  war  relief  should  include  the  training  and 
instruction  of  volunteer  nurses  to  co-operate  with  the 
military  medical  authorities  for  active  service.  The 
ages  have  taught  the  need  for  the  Red  Cross  nurse, 
and  every  Red  Cross  Society  recognizes  this  neces- 
sity. At  the  time  of  the  drafting  of  the  treaty 
of  Geneva  trained  nursing  as  a  profession  was  practically 
unknown.  At  Kaiserswerth,  in  Germany,  where  Florence 
Nightingale  had  studied,  it  was  a  part  of  the  simple 
religious  training  of  the  deaconesses.  Miss  Nightingale,  on 
her  return  to  England  from  the  Crimea  devoted  herself 
to  the  inauguration  of  a  training  school  to  provide  regu- 
lar professional  training  for  nurses  for  the  sick. 

During  our  Civil  War  many  of  the  male  nurses  were 
thoroughly  incompetent,  and  some  of  them  brutal  and 
indifferent.  Most  of  the  women,  on  the  contrary,  were 
kindly  and  sympathetic,  many  of  them,  volunteers,  devot- 
ing their  services  to  the  work  because  of  patriotic  devo- 
tion and  love  of  humanity  or  because  someone  of  their 
own  was  a  soldier  boy  at  the  front. 

The  lack  of  an  efficient  nursing  corps  during  the 
Civil  War  led  not  only  to  unnecessary  suffering  among 
118 


NURSING  IN  THE  CIVIL  WAR          119 

the  wounded,  but  even  to  their  abuse.  Dr.  Thomas  T. 
Ellis,  who  was  post  surgeon  in  New  York  and  medical 
director  in  Virginia,  in  his  diary  published  in  1863, 
gives  some  interesting  information  in  regard  to  women 
nurses.  He  commends  enthusiastically  the  work  of  the 
Sanitary  Commission  and  speaks  highly  of  a  number  of 
women  connected  with  it,  but  of  others  his  condemna- 
tion is  severe.  Dr.  Muir,  medical  inspector-general  of  the 
British  army,  came  to  America  to  study  the  care  of  the 
wounded  here  and  spent  some  time  with  the  troops 
in  Virginia.  Because  of  his  experience  in  the  Crimea 
and  East  Indies  his  opinions  were  entitled  to  the  highest 
respect.  In  referring  to  one  of  them  Dr.  Ellis  says : 

"Dr.  Muir  made  many  valuable  suggestions,  promi- 
nent among  which  he  advised  the  organizing,  under  a 
competent  head,  of  the  female  nurses,  who  should  be 
selected  between  the  ages  of  thirty  and  forty-five.  This 
suggestion,  which  coincided  with  the  opinions  of  many  of 
the  surgeons,  has  been  since  acted  on;  and  Miss  Dix, 
whose  name  has  for  many  years  been  identified  with  the 
most  philanthropic  exertions  in  behalf  of  suffering 
humanity  has  consented  to  take  the  supervision  and  man- 
agement of  that  department,  which  has  hitherto  been 
a  source  of  annoyance  to  all  the  surgeons  of  the  army. 
Women  from  New  York  and  other  cities,  of  doubtful  age 
and  reputation,  had  succeeded  in  getting  employed  as 
nurses,  and  had  abused  the  privileges  of  their  ill- 
assumed  position  to  plunder  the  poor  wounded  soldiers 
and  embezzle  the  clothing  and  luxuries  generously  con- 
tributed by  individuals  and  the  Sanitary  Commission. 
I  can  recall  to  mind  more  than  one  of  these  female 
harpies,  who,  under  the  garb  of  religion  and  philan- 
thropy, have  robbed  the  dying  sufferer  of  his  hard- 
earned  pay,  sacredly  hoarded  and  intended  for  his  suf- 
fering family.  Some  of  these  miserable  counterfeits  of 
noble  women  have  been  detected  and  exposed ;  but  others, 
I  regret  to  say,  have  carried  on  their  nefarious  practice 


120         UNDER  THE  RED  CROSS  FLAG 

with  such  artful  and  methodical  secrecy,  as  to  elude 
detection." 

The  simple  story  told  in  the  letters  home  of  "The 
Lady  Nurse  in  Ward  E"  gives  an  accurate  description 
of  the  work  then  expected  of  a  nurse.  She  administered 
the  medicine  as  directed  by  the  doctor,  aided  the  order- 
lies in  preparing  meals,  fed  the  more  helpless  patients, 
wrote  their  letters,  read  aloud,  sang  to  them  and  amused 
them  in  other  ways  with  games  and  puzzles.  When  a 
large  number  of  wounded  arrived  the  card  of  each  one 
was  made  out  and  hung  at  the  head  of  his  bed.  His 
clothes  were  rolled  into  a  parcel  and  labeled  "For  the 
knapsack  room/'  and  an  account  entered  in  the  ward 
master 's  book.  There  can  be  no  doubt  of  the  valuable  aid 
given  by  these  kindly  women,  and  experience  in  time 
must  have  provided  certain  training  that  added  to  their 
efficiency,  but  the  service  that  is  to-day  expected  of  the 
professional  nurse  was  then  unheard  of.  The  duties  in 
the  operating  room,  the  careful  keeping  of  the  charts 
that  convey  quickly  so  much  to  the  hurried  doctor,  the 
many  means  of  relieving  pain  and  suffering  taught  in 
the  hospital  training  schools  were  yet  to  come. 

In  her  delightful  "Recollections  of  a  Happy  Life," 
published  for  private  circulation,  Mrs.  Elizabeth  C.  Hob- 
son  gives  a  most  interesting  account  of  the  start  of  the 
nurses '  training  school  at  Bellevue  Hospital,  a  portion  of 
which,  by  kind  permission,  is  quoted,  as  I  know  of  no  bet- 
ter story  of  the  origin  of  this  important  work  in  America. 
Mrs.  Hobson  was  chairman  of  one  of  the  sub-committees 
on  inspection.  Ignorant  of  the  duties  expected  of  her, 
she  asked  the  aid  of  one  of  the  young  doctors.  "He 
replied  'Look  at  the  beds  and  the  bedding,  the  clothing 
of  the  patients,  their  unclean  condition,  and  go  into  the 
bathroom  and  see  the  state  of  things  there;  after  a 
while  I  will  come  back  into  the  ward  and  you  follow  me 
without  speaking. '  I  did  as  he  bade  me.  The  condition 
of  the  patients  and  the  beds  was  unspeakable;  one 


FIRST  AMERICAN  TRAINING  SCHOOL   121 

nurse  slept  in  the  bathroom,  and  the  tub  was  filled  with 
filthy  rubbish.  As  for  the  nurse,  she  was  an  Irishwoman 
of  a  low  class,  and  to  her  was  confided  the  care  of  twenty 
patients,  her  only  assistants  being  paupers,  so-called 
'helpers,'  women  drafted  from  the  workhouse,  many  of 
whom  had  been  sent  there  for  intemperance;  and  those 
convalescents  who  could  leave  their  beds.  It  was  Friday, 
and  the  dinner  of  salt  fish  was  brought  in  a  bag  to  the 
ward  and  emptied  on  to  the  table;  the  convalescents 
helped  themselves,  and  carried  to  the  others  their  por- 
tions on  a  tin  plate  with  a  spoon.  While  I  was  watch- 
ing this,  the  young  doctor  returned,  and  without  speak- 
ing to  him  I  followed  him  out  of  the  ward,  down  a  steep 
staircase,  across  a  yard  filled  with  every  kind  of  rub- 
bish, into  a  large  building  which  proved  to  be  the 
laundry.  Nauseous  steam  was  rising  from  great  caul- 
drons filled  with  filthy  clothing,  which  one  old  pauper 
was  stirring  with  a  stick.  I  looked  about;  hideous 
masses  were  piled  up  all  around,  but  where  were  the 
laundresses?  There  were  none,  the  old  man  was  alone. 
'They  had  gone  away,'  he  said.  I  asked  him  what  soap 
he  used.  '  I  haven 't  had  any  for  quite  a  while, '  he  said. 
'  How  long  a  while  ? '  said  I.  '  Oh,  I  should  say  a  matter 
of  several  weeks. '  In  reply  to  my  exclamation  of  horror, 
the  doctor  explained '  that  it  took  the  commissioners  a  good 
while  to  supply  all  the  requisitions,  meanwhile  the  hos- 
pital had  to  wait.  Now  let  us  cross  to  the  kitchen.'  A 
huge  negro  cook  was  ladling  out  soup  into  great  tin 
basins  which  the  workhouse  women  were  to  take  up  to 
the  wards,  and  I  learned  that  these  same  cauldrons  were 
used  for  the  tea  and  coffee  in  the  morning.  Some  pau- 
per women  were  huddled  together  in  a  corner,  peeling 
potatoes,  and  the  whole  place  reeked  with  the  smell  of 
foul  steam  and  food.  I  had  to  escape,  it  was  too  dreadful ! 
********** 

' '  We  learned,  among  other  things,  that  there  were  no 
regular  night  nurses.    A  man,  called  a  night  watchman, 


122         UNDER  THE  RED  CROSS  FLAG 

passed  through  the  wards,  and  if  he  found  a  patient 
very  ill  or  dying  he  called  a  young  doctor.  Occasionally 
patients,  who  had  been  overlooked,  were  found  dead  in 
the  morning.  Rats  scampered  over  the  floors  at  night. 
In  fact,  it  seemed  hopeless  to  attempt  to  cleanse  that 
Augean  stable. 

"One  day,  on  my  way  home,  I  stopped  at  a  book- 
seller's and  ordered  Miss  Nightingale's  works  and  some 
treatises  on  hospital  management.  These  I  studied,  and 
with  the  members  of  my  committee  visited  the  hospital 
constantly.  We  had  learned  a  great  deal  in  that  first 
month.  Miss  Nightingale's  papers  had  taught  us  what 
was  required  and  what  ought  not  to  exist  in  a  hospital. 
But  oh !  how  low  our  standards  were,  how  much  we  had 
to  learn  and  act  up  to;  certainly  in  Bellevue,  the  only 
hospital  I  had  ever  seen,  and  which,  I  was  told,  was  the 
largest  pauper  hospital  in  the  city,  with  its  thirty-two 
wards  and  over  eight  hundred  patients. 

"It  will  hardly  be  believed  that  there  was  not  an 
antiseptic  of  any  kind  in  use  in  the  hospital  except  car- 
bolic acid.  The  house  staff  dressed  the  wounds,  going 
from  one  patient  to  another,  often  carrying  infection  in 
spite  of  the  precautions  used.  Sponges  for  washing 
wounds  were  not  cotton,  but  bits  of  real  sponge,  and 
were  used  on  one  patient  after  another  without  any  dis- 
infection. I  could  fill  pages  with  anecdotes  of  suffering 
and  death  caused  by  the  carelessness  and  ignorance  of 
doctors,  nurses  and  public  officials,  but,  thank  God! 
these  are  things  of  the  past.  The  world  has  certainly 
improved  in  humanity,  intelligent  philanthropy  and 
scientific  knowledge  during  the  last  forty  years. 

********** 

"And  here  I  must  return  to  that  first  meeting,  in 
January,  when  our  visiting  committee  was  formed.  I 
did  not  then  know  that,  a  few  weeks  before  that  meeting 
at  Miss  Schuyler's  house,  she  had  been  over  Bellevue 
Hospital  with  Mrs.  David  Lane  and  Commissioner 


FIRST  AMERICAN  TRAINING  SCHOOL   123 

Bowen,  and  had  come  away  with  the  strong  conviction 
that  only  through  radical  improvements  in  the  nursing 
service  could  that  hospital  be  redeemed;  and  that  only 
through  the  establishment  of  a  Training  School  for 
Nurses  could  the  needed  high  standard  of  nursing  be 
attained,  and  the  patients  be  properly  cared  for.  It 
was  with  this  in  view  that  the  membership  of  that  com- 
mittee had  been  selected. 

"At  the  time  of  which  I  write,  there  were  no  Train- 
ing Schools  for  Nurses  in  this  country,  the  trained  nurse 
was  unknown.  To  have  spoken  of  what  was  projected 
when  we  first  visited  the  hospital  would  have  been  most 
unwise,  would  most  certainly  have  antagonized  the  au- 
thorities, who  had,  some  of  them,  never  even  heard  of  a 
Training  School  for  Nurses.  'What  is  it?'  one  of  them 
asked  later.  '  "What  kind  of  a  thing  is  a  Training  School 
for  Nurses  ?' 

' '  The  time  had  come  when  my  committee  was  to  make 
its  first  monthly  report  to  the  full  committee.  How  well 
I  remember  that  day!  It  so  happened  that  the  reports 
of  the  other  four  standing  committees  were  read  first, 
and  when  I  listened  to  the  accounts  of  the  good  work 
which  had  been  done  among  the  sick,  the  comforts  that 
had  been  dispensed,  the  jellies  and  dainties  distributed 
to  the  sick  and  dying,  my  heart  sank  within  me.  I  had 
done  none  of  these  things ;  I  had  nothing  but  horrors  to 
relate;  and  when  the  moment  came  to  read  my  report 
my  voice  trembled  and  I  could  hardly  stand.  But, 
strengthened  by  the  whispered  encouragement  of  my  two 
friends  who  sat  beside  me,  I  took  courage,  and  as  I  pro- 
ceeded I  was  conscious  of  a  sympathetic  atmosphere, 
and  when  I  sat  down  there  was  a  buzz  which  was  almost 

applause. 

*        *        *        *        *        *        *        #        *    '     * 

"We  had  now  visited  the  hospital  for  three  months, 
and  we  knew  what  we  wanted.  What  we  wanted  was 
a  Training  School  for  Nurses  at  Bellevue  Hospital, 


124         UNDER  THE  RED  CROSS  FLAG 

formed  on  the  lines  of  Miss  Nightingale's  Training 
School  at  St.  Thomas'  Hospital,  London.  The  entire 
Visiting  Committee  wanted  it ;  there  was  not  a  dissenting 
voice.  This  was  in  April,  1872. 

' '  Then  followed  a  period  of  suspense.  No  notice  was 
taken  of  our  application,  and  the  summer  was  passing. 
But  although  we  chafed  under  the  delay,  it  was  not  time 
wasted.  I  had  been  appointed  chairman  of  the  Hospital 
Committee  of  the  State  Charities  Aid  Association,  to 
which  was  assigned  the  duty  of  preparing  a  plan  for  the 
organization  of  the  school.  Of  course  the  first  thing  to 
do  was  to  learn  exactly  how  the  work  of  such  a  training 
school  should  be  conducted.  Dr.  Wylie,  a  member  of 
the  Hospital  Committee,  offered  to  go  to  England,  at  his 
own  expense,  and  get  the  practical  information  we 
needed,  while  others  studied  at  home.  Dr.  Wylie  spent 
three  weeks  in  St.  Thomas'  Hospital,  with  every  facility 
placed  at  his  disposal.  He  put  himself  in  communication 
with  Miss  Nightingale,  who  wrote  him  a  long  letter  stat- 
ing the  fundamental  principles  of  the  management  of 
a  training  school,  and  wishing  us  'God  Speed!'  in  our 
work.  This  letter  we  have  always  regarded  as  the  con- 
stitution of  our  school." 

After  the  reluctant  consent  of  the  Commission  was 
obtained,  plans  for  the  school  were  drawn  up  and  an 
appeal  to  the  public  was  made  for  funds,  which  met 
with  a  generous  response.  The  school  was  to  be  opened 
the  first  day  of  May,  1873,  but  the  first  of  April  arrived 
and  no  one  had  been  obtained  as  the  trained  superin- 
tendent, which  Miss  Nightingale  had  said  was  indispen- 
sable. Mrs.  Hobson  began  to  despair  when  a  woman  in 
a  religious  conventional  garb  called  upon  her.  She  proved 
to  be  Sister  Helen,  of  the  All  Saints  (Protestant)  Sis- 
terhood, which  had  charge  of  the  nursing  of  University 
Hospital,  London.  She  offered  her  services,  and  was 
engaged  as  superintendent. 

"As  was  promised,  we  opened  the  school  on  the  first 


FIRST  AMERICAN  TRAINING  SCHOOL    125 

day  of  May,  1873,  with  three  wards,  and  the  reformation 
and  purification  began.  Sister  Helen's  experience  was 
our  salvation,  and  that  summer  she  fought  hard  and 
kept  the  school  alive  by  her  energy  and  tact,  and  the 
respect  which  her  knowledge  inspired  upon  the  house 
staff.  By  autumn  the  results  began  to  tell  in  the  care 
of  the  patients  and  in  the  improved  condition  of  the 
wards.  During  the  following  winter  we  were  asked  to 
take  charge  of  two  more  wards,  and  by  the  end  of  a  year 
we  were  able  to  discharge  our  monthly  nurses  and  place 
our  best  pupils  in  their  places.  Applications  from 
pupils  commenced  to  pour  in,  and,  in  spite  of  difficult 
questions  which  constantly  arose,  we  felt  that  success 
was  before  us. 

"One  of  our  difficulties,  in  the  light  of  to-day,  is 
amusing.  Early  in  the  work  we  decided  that  a  uniform 
was  necessary,  but,  to  our  surprise,  great  opposition  was 
expressed  by  the  pupils;  they  objected  to  a  livery. 
Among  our  pupils  was  Miss  Euphemia  Van  Rensselaer, 
belonging  to  the  distinguished  family  of  that  name,  who, 
learning  of  our  dilemma,  offered  to  try  to  solve  it  for 
us.  She  asked  for  two  days'  holiday,  and,  when  she 
returned  to  the  hospital,  she  was  dressed  in  a  blue-and- 
white  'seersucker'  dress,  white  apron,  collar  and  cuffs, 
and  a  very  becoming  cap.  She  was  very  handsome,  and 
gave  an  air  of  distinction  to  the  simple  costume.  Within 
a  week  every  nurse  had  adopted  it,  and  it  has  been  the 
uniform  of  Bellevue  School  ever  since.  Another  instance 
is  typical  of  Miss  Van  Rensselaer 's  character  and  influ- 
ence. When  we  took  charge  there  was  not  a  screen  in 
the  hospital,  no  privacy  whatever  for  sick  or  dying. 
Of  course  we  remedied  that,  but  we  also  discovered  that 
the  female  patients  were  taken  to  the  amphitheatre  for 
operations  before  all  the  students,  unassisted  and  un- 
protected by  the  presence  of  a  nurse.  We  felt  that  this 
could  not  be  allowed  from  our  wards,  and  I  consulted 
a  friendly  surgeon,  Dr.  Crosby.  He  said  he  should  be 


126    UNDER  THE  RED  CROSS  FLAG 

delighted  to  have  a  nurse  attend  his  patients,  but,  he 
added :  '  medical  students  are  a  rough  lot,  and  they  may 
make  it  unpleasant  for  the  nurses.'  Again  Miss  Van 
Rensselaer  stepped  into  the  breach.  'I  will  go  with  the 

patient  and  take  Miss  B with  me ;  I  am  not  afraid. ' 

The  day  came  and  I  went  to  the  hospital  to  await  the 
result.  I  saw  the  patient  carried  out,  followed  by  two 
nurses.  It  was  an  anxious  moment.  To  have  had  those 
nurses  insulted  by  jeers  and  howls,  and  perhaps  forced 
to  retire,  would  have  been  very  serious,  and  it  was  quite 
possible.  Nearly  an  hour  passed;  finally  I  heard  the 
students  thundering  down  the  stairs.  I  waited  anxiously 
until  I  could  see  Dr.  Crosby,  and  rushed  to  meet  him. 
His  face  beaming  with  smiles,  he  extended  both  hands: 
'Their  presence  was  a  benediction;  I  never  had  a  more 
successful  operation,  and  the  students  were  as  quiet  as 
if  they  were  in  a  church!'  he  exclaimed.  Miss  Van 
Rensselaer  told  me  later  that  the  theatre  was  crowded, 
and  when  they  entered  with  the  patient  there  was  a  faint 
murmur  as  if  in  surprise.  It  ceased  and  during  the 
operation  the  order  was  absolute.  From  that  day  to  this, 
no  female  patient  has  been  unattended. 

"As  I  have  already  said,  the  Bellevue  Training 
School  for  Nurses,  opened  May  1,  1873,  was  the  first 
school  of  the  kind  in  this  country.  The  New  Haven  and 
Boston  schools  followed  closely,  being  also  opened  in 
1873.  Twenty-five  years  later,  in  1898,  thirty  schools 
had  been  established;  and  to-day  (1911)  there  are  1,100 
training  schools  for  nurses  in  the  United  States." 

It  is  largely  due  to  the  persistent  and  courageous 
efforts  of  these  New  York  women  that  to-day  our  Amer- 
ican Bed  Cross  has  one  of  the  largest  and  most  efficient 
corps  of  trained  nurses  in  the  world.  A  further  inter- 
esting link  between  this  Bellevue  Training  School  and 
the  Red  Cross  is  the  fact  that  the  woman  to  whom  the 
Red  Cross  owes  mainly  the  remarkable  organization  of 
its  nursing  service,  Miss  Jane  A.  Delano,  was  for  some 


THE  SENTIMENTAL  AMATEUR          127 

years  superintendent  of  both  the  Women's  and  the  Men's 
Schools  for  Nurses  connected  with  this  hospital. 

One  of  the  annoyances  and  amusements  of  the  medi- 
cal service  in  time  of  war  is  the  sentimental  young 
woman  who  feels  herself  called  upon  to  nurse  the  sick 
and  wounded  soldiers.  Such  young  women  have  become 
almost  proverbial  both  among  the  doctors  and  the  pa- 
tients. "I  am  too  tired  to  be  nursed  to-day,  miss,"  or, 
"I  don't  mind  if  you  do  wash  my  face ;  the  other  ladies 
have  already  washed  it  five  times  to-day  and  I  am  get- 
ting quite  accustomed  to  it,  thank  you,  ma'am,"  are 
familiar  comments  on  amateur  nursing.  The  Red  Cross, 
like  the  surgeon  general's  office,  receives  innumerable 
offers  of  this  untrained  service.  This  is  particularly  the 
case  if  there  seems  any  danger  of  war.  When  there 
arose  some  prospect  of  a  military  conflict  in  Mexico  one 
young  woman  wrote  that  she  was  eighteen  years  old  and 
believed  herself  qualified  to  be  a  nurse.  If  the  Red 
Cross  would  confer  with  the  President  and  the  Secre- 
tary of  State  and  they  advised  her  going  she  could 
obtain  parental  consent.  Another  of  twenty  informed 
the  Red  Cross  that  she  had  twice  nursed  a  man  through 
typhoid  fever  and  that  as  he  was  still  alive  her  qualifica- 
tions for  a  nurse  were  of  undoubted  character. 

Perhaps  the  most  interesting  and  original  offer  of 
such  service  came  on  a  postcard  from  one  of  America's 
foreign-born  daughters.  The  spirit  of  adventure  seemed 
strong  in  this  applicant,  though  she  expresses  a  great 
patriotic  devotion  to  her  adopted  country. 

"I  am  inlisted  the  volunteers  of  the  field  hospital 
service.  I  feel  honored  of  it  as  I  am  foreigner,  came  only 
several  months  ago  in  this  country.  I  am  honored  of 
it  as  I  said,  but  not  quite  satisfied,  as  I  feel  the  strength 
in  me  to  do  greater  services  for  my  adopted  country.  I 
speak  more  different  languages,  I  am  sharpshooter  and 
do  duel  with  sword  and  dagger.  I  am  strong  and  brave- 
hearted  too.  I  beg  you  to  let  me  have  the  chance  to 


128    UNDER  THE  RED  CROSS  FLAG 

prove  my  love  of  my  adopted  country  and  the  bravery 
of  my  nation.  Let  me  have  the  chance  to  go  any  danger 
where  no  one  dare  to  go.  I  am  willing  to  sacrifice  my 
body,  my  soul,  my  last  drop  of  blood  of  the  country's 
concern. 

' '  I  am  engaged  to  be  married,  and  if  I  ever  will  come 
back  saved,  I  want  the  flag  with  Stars  and  Stripes  for 
my  bridal  veil,  for  my  pall  if  I  die  for  it.  My  fiance  is 
a  lieutenant  of  U.  S.  N.  My  brother  at  the  service  of 
the  U.  S.  A.,  but  I  want  to  be  more  than  they  are,  to  do 
great  things  to  be  worthy  for  the  country  and  my  dear 
one 's  love.  I  beg  you  to  stand  by  me  in  my  project.  I 
promise  to  be  worthy  of  your  patronizing.  I  am  await- 
ing of  answer." 

In  all  of  such  offers  it  is  difficult  to  differentiate 
patriotism  and  the  real  love  of  humanity  from  the  desire 
for  a  novel  and  exciting  experience.  These  young  women 
know  little  and  think  less  of  the  hard,  self-sacrificing 
duties  of  the  true  nurse.  The  test  of  the  real  sentiment 
can  be  made  by  the  offering  of  work  for  which  they  may 
be  really  fitted  but  which  occupies  them  at  home,  and 
not  at  the  hospitals. 

Yet  the  lay  woman  has  just  as  much  right  to  be  of 
service  to  her  country  as  the  trained  nurse,  if  she  is 
willing  to  undertake  what  she  is  capable  of  doing.  There 
is  a  great  variety  of  supplies  that  are  as  necessary  to  alle- 
viate the  sufferings  of  the  sick  and  wounded  as  is  the 
nursing  care.  Up  to  the  hospital  doors  rumble  the  am- 
bulances. Out  of  them  are  tenderly  lifted  the  wounded 
men,  unshaven  and  unshorn,  with  pallid  faces,  sunken 
eyes,  exhausted  forms,  clothed  in  tattered,  blood  and 
mud-stained  uniforms.  What  a  horrible  picture  they 
present  of  war's  cruel  harvest !  After  the  bath,  the  fresh 
garments  made  by  the  lay  woman's  helpful  hand  are 
put  on,  and  sinking  down  into  the  comfortable  bed,  with 
its  clean  linen,  also  provided  by  her  busy  fingers,  the 
weary  soldier  sighs  his  content.  One,  whose  whole  right 


WHAT  THE  LAY  WOMAN  CAN  DO      129 

side  was  shattered  by  shrapnel,  brought  lately  to  a  hos- 
pital at  Dinard,  after  traveling  for  three  long,  suffering 
days  in  a  train  for  the  wounded,  murmured  as  he  was 
placed  in  his  cot:  "This  is  paradise!" 

Surgical  shirts  and  pajamas,  warm  convalescent 
robes,  socks,  sheets,  towels  and  pillow-cases — these  are 
the  lay  woman's  charge.  Bandages  and  surgical  dress- 
ings she  may  also  prepare,  for  any  lack  of  these  means 
not  only  additional  suffering,  but  actual  danger  to  the 
patient. 

Hundreds  of  thousands  of  garments  sent  to  Europe 
from  America  have  borne  upon  them  the  little  red 
crosses.  From  Pau,  France,  one  of  the  American  Bed 
Cross  nurses  wrote, ' '  The  men  all  wish  to  wear  the  shirts 
and  pajamas  with  the  red  crosses  on  them;"  and  from 
Gleichwitz,  in  Germany,  reports  another  nurse,  "A 
wounded  Galician,  who  spoke  no  known  language,  ges- 
ticulated for  two  days  before  we  discovered  that  he  want- 
ed a  shirt  with  a  little  red  cross  on  it."  No  wonder  that 
they  love  these  little  red  crosses,  for  to  these  men  they 
carry  a  message  of  kindly  sympathy  from  beyond  the 
seas. 

During  weary  days  of  convalescence  the  men  can  be 
read  to,  and  simple  games  provided  for  their  amusement. 
Here  again  the  lay  woman  may  find  a  field  ready  for 
her  service. 

Along  the  lines  of  the  evacuation  of  the  wounded 
rest  stations  must  be  established,  where  hot  soup,  coffee 
and  other  suitable  refreshments  for  the  soldiers  must 
be  ready  for  every  train.  These  should  be  installed  and 
operated  by  lay  women,  under  the  supervision  of  a  Red 
Cross  nurse,  on  guard  against  a  diet  of  mince  pie  or 
lobster  salad  being  served  to  a  typhoid  fever  convales- 
cent. There  will  be  the  men  temporarily  permanently 
crippled,  who  will  need  the  aid  of  the  lay  woman.  Many 
must  be  taught  how  again  to  earn  their  livelihood  by 
some  method  suitable  to  the  loss  of  eyesight,  or  of  a  leg, 
9 


130         UNDER  THE  RED  CROSS  FLAG 

or  an  arm.  There  will  be  the  wives  and  children  of  the 
soldiers  at  the  front  who  will  need  her  assistance,  and, 
to  her  tender  sympathy  and  care  must  be  confided  the 
widows  and  the  orphans.  The  woman,  be  she  lay  woman 
or  trained  nurse,  who  is  willing  to  do  what  she  is  best 
fitted  to  do  will  find  no  limit  to  the  field  of  her  useful- 
ness in  the  misfortune  of  war. 

To  fulfil  one  of  the  most  important  of  the  duties 
devolving  upon  the  Red  Cross  the  National  Committee 
on  Red  Cross  Nursing  Service,  created  by  the  War  Relief 
Board  of  the  American  Red  Cross  (and  consisting  of 
fifteen  members,  nine  of  whom  are  selected  by  the  Amer- 
ican Nurses'  Association),  has  been  made  responsible  for 
the  establishment  of  uniform  qualifications  to  govern 
the  enrollment  of  nurses  and  for  the  organization  of  an 
adequate  Red  Cross  nursing  personnel.  State  and  local 
Red  Cross  committees  of  nurses  have  also  been  appointed 
throughout  the  country. 

The  Red  Cross  does  not  conduct  a  training  school 
for  nurses,  but  enrolls  through  its  local  committees  grad- 
uate nurses  who  fulfil  the  requirements  prescribed  by 
the  National  Committee. 

To  be  eligible  for  enrollment,  an  applicant  must  have 
had  at  least  a  two  years'  course  of  training  received  in 
a  general  hospital  which  includes  the  care  of  men  and 
has  a  daily  average  of  at  least  fifty  patients  during  the 
applicant's  training.  Upon  recommendation  of  the  local 
committee,  subsequent  hospital  experience  or  post-grad- 
uate work  which  seems  to  supply  deficiencies  of  training, 
may  be  accepted  as  an  equivalent  by  the  National  Com- 
mittee. 

In  States  where  registration  is  provided  for  by  law, 
an  applicant,  to  be  eligible  for  enrollment,  must  be  reg- 
istered. She  must  be  a  member  of  and  endorsed  by  an 
organization  affiliated  with  the  American  Nurses'  Asso- 
ciation, have  the  endorsement  of  the  training  school  from 


THE  NURSE  AND  HER  QUALIFICATIONS  131 

which  she  graduated,  and  of  at  least  two  members  of 
the  Committee  on  Red  Cross  Nursing  Service  in  her 
locality;  or  must  submit  such  other  evidence  of  fitness 
for  the  work  as  may  be  acceptable  to  the  National  Com- 
mittee. Applicants  must  be  at  least  twenty-five  and  not 
over  forty  years  of  age. 

Nurses  enrolling  need  not  be  native-born  citizens, 
but  if  called  upon  for  service  in  time  of  war  they  would 
be  required  to  take  the  following  oath  of  allegiance 
specified  in  Army  Regulations: 

"That  I  will  support  and  defend  the  Constitution 
of  the  United  States  against  all  enemies,  foreign  and 
domestic;  that  I  will  bear  true  faith  and  allegiance  to 
the  same ;  that  I  take  this  obligation  freely,  without  any 
mental  reservation  or  purpose  of  evasion,  and  that  I 
will  well  and  faithfully  discharge  the  duties  of  the  office 
on  which  I  am  about  to  enter.  So  help  me  God. ' ' 

The  above  oath  does  not  in  any  way  affect  the  citi- 
zenship of  the  nurse,  and  is  only  operative  during  the 
period  of  her  employment  in  time  of  war. 

The  Red  Cross  nurse  receives  an  appointment  card 
and  badge  bearing  the  same  number,  record  of  which  is 
kept  on  file  both  by  the  local  committee  and  the  National 
Committee.  The  badge  remains  at  all  times  the  prop- 
erty of  the  American  Red  Cross,  and  in  case  of  death, 
resignation  or  annulment  of  appointment,  both  badge 
and  card  are  returned  to  the  National  Committee.  The 
use  of  the  badge  is  protected  by  Act  of  Congress,  and 
it  is  not  permitted  to  be  worn  by  any  other  than  the 
person  to  whom  issued. 

The  Red  Cross  has  a  regular  uniform  for  its  nurses. 
This  is  of  a  grayish-blue  material.  The  caps,  collars  and 
aprons  are  made  of  the  simplest  nature  to  enable  them 
to  be  easily  laundered.  This  uniform  was  selected  after 
careful  study  so  as  to  make  it  practical  in  every  way, 
the  first  consideration  in  its  selection.  Many  of  the 


132         UNDER  THE  RED  CROSS  FLAG 

nurses  have  provided  themselves  with  two  or  three  of 
these  simple  uniforms;  but  in  case  of  a  sudden  disaster 
where  nurses  of  the  Red  Cross  Corps  are  called  upon 
who  have  not  on  hand  the  regular  uniform,  the  usual 
plain  white  uniforms  are  permitted.  The  Red  Cross 
brassard  can  never  be  worn  without  special  authority, 
and  in  case  of  war  such  brassards  are  issued  only  by  the 
War  Department.  When  a  nurse  is  placed  on  a  long 
tour  of  duty  the  Red  Cross  itself  provides  her  with  a 
coat  for  winter  service  and  a  cape  for  warmer  weather. 
In  time  of  peace  a  nurse  is  not  expected  to  respond  to  a 
call  for  service  if  this  would  seriously  interfere  with 
duties  she  has  already  assumed.  Otherwise  she  is  ex- 
pected to  respond.  In  the  event  of  war  in  which  the 
United  States  may  be  involved  all  of  the  Red  Cross 
nurses  are  required  to  report  to  their  local  committees 
the  earliest  possible  date  on  which  they  would  be  avail- 
able for  service,  and  must  thereafter  hold  themselves  in 
readiness. 

As  it  is  of  the  utmost  importance  that  nurses  who 
undertake  active  duty  for  any  length  of  time  should  be 
in  the  best  health  possible,  they  are  required  at  such 
times  to  take  a  physical  examination.  The  enrolled  Red 
Cross  nurses  receive  no  allowance  except  when  called 
upon  for  active  service  under  the  Red  Cross,  when  their 
pay  is  the  same  as  that  provided  for  the  Army  Nurse 
Corps.  Under  these  regulations  the  Red  Cross  has  al- 
ready enrolled  six  thousand  of  the  best  trained  nurses 
in  the  country,  coming  up  to  the  highest  standard  ever 
set  for  a  nursing  service.  The  record  of  each  individual 
nurse  is  on  file  in  Washington.  She  is  required  to  keep 
her  local  committee  informed  of  her  address,  as  it  is 
by  means  of  the  local  committees  that  these  nurses  are 
mobilized. 

When  a  serious  disaster  occurs  at  which  the  nurses' 
services  are  required  a  telegram  goes  from  headquarters 


ORGANIZATION  AND  MOBILIZATION     133 

to  the  local  committees  in  the  vicinity  asking  each  chair- 
man to  provide  a  definite  number  of  nurses.  By  means 
of  her  local  list  the  chairman  communicates  with  the 
nurses,  asking  each  in  turn  if  she  is  free  to  go.  If  a 
favorable  response  is  received,  instructions  are  given  at 
what  time  and  at  what  station  to  report.  A  nurse  is 
selected  among  the  number  as  supervising  nurse  because 
of  some  experience  or  training  she  has  received  which 
fits  her  for  the  position  of  responsibility.  These  nurses 
proceed  immediately  to  the  scene  of  the  disaster.  In  the 
meantime  headquarters  at  Washington,  on  receipt  of 
information  as  to  what  nurses  are  reporting  for  duty, 
selects  one  as  the  supervising  nurse  of  all  the  groups. 

In  the  case  of  the  European  war,  from  the  enrolled 
nurses  selections  were  made  from  those  who  volunteered 
for  this  service ;  and  in  the  case  of  Serbia  after  typhus 
fever  developed,  the  nurses  were  informed  of  the  danger. 
Not  once  have  our  nurses  failed  to  respond,  more  being 
ready  to  go  in  every  instance  than  were  required,  and 
they  have  already  made  an  enviable  reputation  for  them- 
selves. Above  the  badges  of  their  enrollment  the  service 
bars  of  many  of  them  testify  to  the  fine  sense  of  duty 
that  inspires  them. 

After  cyclones  at  Hattiesburg,  in  1908,  and  Omaha, 
in  1913,  they  cared  for  the  injured.  Two  hundred  and 
thirty-eight  were  scattered  throughout  the  devastated 
flood  districts  of  Ohio  and  the  neighboring  States  in  1913. 
They  not  only  nursed  the  sick,  but  they  proved  of  incal- 
culable value  to  the  health  authorities  in  the  prevention 
of  epidemics  by  their  inspection  and  their  instructions  to 
the  people.  Promptly  in  the  field,  they  donned  rubber 
boots,  waded  through  mud  and  climbed  over  debris  to 
reach  those  who  needed  their  aid.  At  night  they  slept  on 
mattresses  on  the  floor  or  spent  watchful  waiting  hours  at 
remote  stations  to  be  ready  for  a  sudden  call. 

After  the  Salem  fire,  in  1914,  thirty  of  the  Red  Cross 


134         UNDER  THE  RED  CROSS  FLAG 

nurses  were  on  active  duty  in  the  camps,  the  temporary 
hospitals,  and  at  headquarters.  In  the  camps  they  moth- 
ered the  whole  community,  looked  out  for  the  babies,  gave 
lessons  in  their  proper  care,  made  wise  suggestions  about 
the  children,  inspected  daily  the  entire  camp,  aided  in 
maintaining  its  health,  and  left  much  practical  informa- 
tion as  the  legacy  of  their  work.  At  Gettysburg  and 
other  veteran  encampments,  at  inaugurations,  various 
other  functions  and  parades  all  over  the  country,  they 
have  maintained  first  aid  stations. 

Some  idea  of  a  nurse's  duties  in  a  disaster  is  given 
by  Miss  Mary  E.  Gladwin,  who  was  in  charge  of  a  hun- 
dred nurses  at  Dayton  after  the  floods,  and  who  spent 
months  at  Belgrade  as  supervising  nurse  of  the  American 
Red  Cross  unit,  courageously  standing  at  her  post  of 
duty  in  the  face  of  danger  both  from  shot  and  shell  and 
from  the  dread  disease  of  typhus. 

"Sleep  will  not  come, — behind  tired  eyelids  the  too 
active  brain  sees  picture  after  picture  of  the  nurses  at 
work  in  Dayton.  In  the  dripping  rain,  the  'bread  line,' 
an  appalling  line  of  patient,  waiting  people,  two  nurses 
hurrying  up  and  down  its  length,  helping  a  mother  with 
her  child,  bestowing  packages  more  securely  in  a  basket, 
fastening  a  cloak  about  weary  shoulders,  giving  a  smile 
here,  a  few  cheerful  words  there,  carrying  away  a  fret- 
ful child  until  the  mother  is  ready  to  go  home,  helping 
a  fainting  woman  to  rest  and  shelter.  A  big  modern 
schoolhouse,  turned  into  a  veritable  hive  of  new  activi- 
ties; dormitories,  dining-room,  kitchen,  hospital,  a  reci- 
tation room  transformed  into  an  accident  and  first-aid 
room,  drugs  and  dressings  on  the  teacher's  desk;  a  blue- 
gowned  young  woman  with  the  Red  Cross  on  her  arm, 
bandaging  cuts  and  bruises,  caring  for  scores  of  small 
ailments  and  some  grave  ones.  A  city  church,  the  tem- 
porary home  of  hundreds  of  refugees,  the  'Red  Cross 
Lady,'  ceaselessly  busy  caring  for  many  patients  and, 


FIRE,  FLOOD  AND  PESTILENCE          135 

between  whiles,  cutting  bread  and  butter,  pouring  coffee, 
sorting  and  giving  out  old  clothes,  stopping  to  hold  the 
hand  of  a  forlorn  old  creature  and  to  persuade  her  that 
the  almshouse  is  a  comfortable  and  proper  place  to  which 
she  need  not  be  ashamed  to  go.  Another  schoolhouse, 
another  nurse  bathing  and  finding  clothes  for  a  dozen 
little  children  whose  mothers  have  gone  to  see  what  may 
be  saved  from  homes  wrecked  by  the  flood.  Churches, 
clubs,  schoolhouses,  halls,  each  with  its  nurses,  each  a 
centre  of  beneficent  healing  of  mind  and  body,  pass  in 
rapid  review,  and  then  back  to  our  hospitable  shelter, 
the  N.  C.  R.,  as  we  quickly  learned  to  call  it,  the  National 
Cash  Register  factory,  for  luncheon. 

"Automobiles  starting  from  the  N.  C.  R.  in  various 
directions ;  each  with  its  Red  Cross  nurse,  this  one  with 
an  armful  of  blankets  going  to  remove  two  children  with 
measles  from  their  place  of  refuge  to  a  hospital;  that 
one  taking  a  distraught  mother  to  the  place  where  her 
lost  child  was  last  seen ;  another  hurrying  to  the  juvenile 
court  to  report  a  father's  cruelty  to  his  children;  an- 
other helping  a  deserted  wife  to  a  train  which  will  bear 
her  to  shelter  and  protection.  The  fifth  floor  of  the 
N.  C.  R.,  bearing  now  little  resemblance  to  a  factory 
office, — an  alert,  business-like  young  woman  coming  for- 
ward, all  in  white,  wearing  a  dainty  cap  with  its  tiny 
Red  Cross  in  front,  to  tell  us  that  her  two  hospital 
wards  are  full,  her  patients  well  cared  for,  and  her 
nurses — with  a  smile — 'working  beautifully.'  A  mod- 
ern hospital,  this,  with  its  up-to-date  supervisor  and 
its  nurses  wearing  the  uniforms  of  training  schools 
of  widely-separated  cities. 

"A  city  street,  river  mud  and  debris  piled  breast 
high  an  either  side,  houses  off  their  foundations  or  en- 
tirely washed  away;  a  very  different  looking  'Red  Cross 
Lady, '  serenely  picking  her  way  around  wrecked  furni- 
ture, sodden  mattresses,  ruins  of  porches  and  sheds; 


136         UNDER  THE  RED  CROSS  FLAG 

wearing  rubber  boots,  skirts  kilted  high,  wet  nearly  to 
the  waist,  sending  sick  people  to  hospitals,  inspecting 
plumbing,  back  yards  and  cellars;  superintending  all 
sorts  of  work  from  feeding  the  baby  to  the  digging  of 
trenches.  Through  all  parts  of  the  flooded  city,  nurses 
going  on  similar  errands,  inspecting  nearly  nine  thou- 
sand houses  and  reporting  conditions  found.  On  the 
way  to  sanitary  headquarters,  a  hurried  glimpse  of  a 
nurse  in  an  automobile  whose  triumphant  expression  is 
accounted  for  by  the  mattress,  secured  with  great  effort, 
in  the  back  of  the  machine.  On  the  next  street  another 
nurse  in  a  second  automobile  flashing  by,  this  time  in 
possession  of  a  four-burner  oil  stove  and  a  great  bundle 
of  clothes  and  blankets.  Up  the  sticky,  muddy  steps  of 
sanitary  headquarters,  to  find  a  little  nurse  in  brown, 
well  known  in  Teachers'  College,  New  York,  dispensing 
the  most  varied  assortment  of  knowledge  as  to  mat- 
tresses, shoes,  rubber  boots,  baby  clothes,  contagious 
ambulances,  the  obligations  of  landlords,  the  cleaning  of 
cellars.  At  a  table  on  one  side,  a  nurse  in  the  well- 
known  garb  of  the  Chicago  Visiting  Nurse  Association, 
with  pencil  poised,  is  answering  questions,  directing 
nurses,  and  making  valuable  and  unique  records. 

"Evening,  home  to  the  great  house  in  the  flooded 
district  over  which  floats  the  American  flag,  around  gray 
painted  boards  in  the  dim  candle  light,  many  nurses  of 
the  Red  Cross  partaking  of  one  of  black  Mary's  good 
stews.  Disheartened,  discouraged,  depressed,  out  of 
sorts  with  the  weather  and  the  general  discomfort  ?  Not 
at  all.  Tired  enough,  very  cold,  coughing  more  than  one 
likes  to  hear,  sometimes  very  hoarse ;  but  bright,  cheerful, 
courteous,  telling  stories  of  obstacles  overcome,  seeing 
always  the  bright  side,  looking  forward  eagerly  to  re- 
newed service  on  the  morrow. 

"A  good  piece  of  work  was  that  done  in  Dayton, 
thoroughly  good  nursing  work,  done  in  such  harmony  of 


FIRE,  FLOOD  AND   PESTILENCE         137 

spirit  and  co-operation  as  is  seldom  seen.  The  attempt 
to  help  in  a  time  of  great  need  and  suffering  has  brought 
us  very  near  together.  The  weeks  of  hard  work  have 
been  a  great  privilege  and  we  venture  to  believe  have  in 
some  sort  produced  a  new  standard  of  public  health 
service  for  times  of  disaster.  Remembering  that  such 
work  could  be  duplicated  by  the  Red  Cross,  if  necessary, 
in  a  score  of  places,  one  can  only  say  as  did  the  Dayton 
physician  with  tears  very  near  the  surface,  'God  bless 
the  Red  Cross  nurses  everywhere.'  ' 

At  the  Ninth  International  Red  Cross  Conference, 
held  in  Washington  in  1912,  a  special  committee  was 
appointed  to  have  charge  of  the  Nightingale  Founda- 
tion. The  duty  of  this  Foundation,  for  which  a  special 
fund  was  donated  by  the  different  societies,  is  to  pro- 
vide an  appropriate  medal  to  be  awarded  in  recognition 
of  great  and  exceptional  devotion  to  the  sick  or  wounded 
in  peace  or  war.  On  one  side  of  the  medal  there  is  a 
reproduction  of  the  famous  statue  of  Florence  Nightin- 
gale, known  as  "The  Lady  with  the  Lamp."  As  the 
Foundation  is  commemorative  of  the  services  rendered 
to  mankind  by  Florence  Nightingale,  who  established 
the  first  modern  school  for  the  training  of  nurses,  the 
medal  is  to  be  awarded  only  to  women  who  have  received 
special  training  as  nurses.  Six  of  these  medals  are 
available  annually,  and  in  the  event  of  war  the  number 
may  be  increased  to  twelve.  No  country  may  propose 
more  than  one  candidate  yearly  for  this  honor,  and 
the  final  award  is  made  by  the  International  Red  Cross 
Committee  at  Geneva. 

In  the  quiet  efficiency  of  the  Red  Cross  Nursing 
Service  not  only  is  suffering  being  alleviated,  but,  per- 
haps unconsciously,  a  missionary  work  is  being  accom- 
plished. The  services  of  Miss  Helen  Scott  Hay  had  been 
given  by  the  American  Red  Cross  to  the  Queen  of  Bul- 
garia for  four  years  to  organize  a  nurses '  training  school 
at  Sofia  on  American  lines.  The  sudden  breaking  out 


138 

of  the  war  required  the  postponement  of  this  plan.  At 
the  request  of  the  Queen  of  Greece,  inquiries  have  been 
made  as  to  whether  the  Eed  Cross  would  aid  in  the 
establishment  of  a  similar  training  school  at  Saloniki 
after  the  war  is  over.  The  chairman  of  the  National 
Nursing  Committee  has  been  asked  to  supervise  the 
training  of  a  Greek  nurse  and  one  from  the  Philippines 
in  this  country.  This  particular  line  of  work  may  be 
the  beginning  of  a  universal  Eed  Cross  nursing  stand- 
ard of  a  high  order. 

Nor  have  we  yet  reached  the  limit  of  the  American 
Eed  Cross  nurse's  patriotic  and  humane  work.  "Of  all 
the  factors  which  affect  the  welfare  and  the  happiness 
of  the  human  race  probably  none  is  so  important  as  good 
health;  without  a  vigorous  body  man's  efficiency,  com- 
fort and  happiness  are  disturbed  or  destroyed  alto- 
gether/' Eealizing  this  truth,  and  following  the  general 
policy  of  the  Eed  Cross  to  make  its  different  departments 
of  daily  usefulness,  the  nursing  service  has  arranged 
for  courses  for  women  in  Elementary  Hygiene  and 
Home  Care  of  the  Sick,  for  which  a  special  textbook 
has  been  prepared  as  supplementary  to  the  courses  in 
first  aid.  These  classes  are  taught  by  Eed  Cross  nurses. 
The  object  of  the  course  is  to  instruct  women  in  personal 
and  household  hygiene  and  to  teach  them  in  a  simple  way 
the  care  of  the  sick  in  their  own  homes.  Every  woman 
should  realize  that  the  hour  may  come  when  upon  her 
will  devolve  the  care  of  some  invalid.  This  does  not 
mean  she  should  fit  herself  for  professional  service  by 
years  of  hard  study  in  a  hospital  training  school,  but 
it  does  mean  she  should  learn  the  practical  lessons  taught 
by  the  Eed  Cross  Nursing  Service. 

Thus  in  the  daily  life  or  amidst  the  distress  and 
destruction  of  great  disasters  or  back  of  the  tumult  of 
the  battle  line  the  Eed  Cross  nurse  carries  on  her 
patriotic  and  humane  service  for  her  country  and  her 
fellow-men.  This  service  must  be  a  trained  and  organ- 


FIRE,  FLOOD  AND  PESTILENCE         139 

ized  service.  All  the  sentiment  in  the  world  is  of  little 
worth  unless  training  and  organization  can  give  this 
sentiment  practical  helpful  expression.  Yet  through 
the  practical  and  efficiently  trained  organization  must 
ever  breathe  the  living  spirit  of  the  Red  Cross. 

"Some  day,"  writes  Charles  Wagner,  "the  Red  Cross 
will  triumph  over  the  cannon.  The  future  belongs  to 
the  nurse,  to  the  little  grey  sister,  to  all  helpful  powers, 
however  humble;  for  two  allies  are  theirs,  suffering 
humanity  and  the  merciful  God." 


CHAPTER  IX 

ALWAYS  SOME  WORK  SOMEWHERE  FOR  THE  RED  CROSS. 
NATURE  KEEPS  IT  BUSY.  DESTRUCTION  BY  FIRE 
AND  EARTHQUAKE.  SAN  FRANCISCO.  LOSS  OF 
HUMAN  LIFE.  CHERRY  MINE  DISASTER.  HOW  THE 
RED  CROSS  BEAT  JACK  FROST.  A  PHILIPPINE  POM- 
PEII. A  CITY  HOLOCAUST  AND  AN  OCEAN  WRECK. 
A  HUNDRED  FLOODED  TOWNS. 

MR.  BICKNELL,  the  national  director  of  the  Red  Cross, 
once  made  a  careful  estimate  of  the  average  number  of 
serious  disasters  liable  to  occur  in  a  year,  and  came  to 
the  conclusion  that  there  would  be  five  or  six  of  sufficient 
magnitude  to  require  Red  Cross  assistance.  Such  assist- 
ance is  given  when  the  relief  operations  are  more  than 
the  local  community  can  itself  provide,  though  it  is 
not  infrequently  the  case  that  the  local  Red  Cross  agency 
is  called  upon  to  take  charge  of  the  relief  work  even  when 
the  community  is  capable  of  providing  the  necessary 
aid.  This  was  done  in  New  York  when  the  institutional 
members  carried  out  the  relief  after  the  Triangle  Waist 
Factory  fire  and  the  Titanic  wreck,  and  the  Eastland 
disaster  in  Chicago. 

Mr.  Bicknell's  estimate  proved  to  be  conservative. 
Since  the  winter  of  1905  there  have  been  more  than 
seventy-five  disasters,  caused  by  earthquakes,  volcanic 
eruptions,  fires,  floods,  cyclones,  famines,  epidemics, 
shipwrecks  and  mine  disasters,  that  Nature  has  provided 
to  call  the  Red  Cross  into  active  duty ;  and  as  if  Nature 
should  not  be  allowed  a  monopoly  of  its  service,  man 
has  brought  about  several  wars  to  add  their  share  of 
suffering  and  misery  to  the  demands  upon  it. 

In  the  summer  of  1905  a  Red  Cross  branch,  under 

the  patronage  of  the  Governor  and  prominent  Filipinos, 

was  organized  at  Manila.     From  these  distant  island 

possessions  came  the  first  appeal  for  help  when  a  typhoon 

140 


SAN  FRANCISCO  141 

swept  over  part  of  Luzon,  the  frail  native  huts  on  their 
high  bamboo  supports  collapsing  by  thousands  in  its 
path.  One  old  man  explained  to  the  Relief  Committee : 
"My  house  sat  down  like  a  hen  and  would  not  get  up 
again."  In  tropical  countries  a  little  money  goes  a  long 
way.  Where  food  is  cheap  and  houses  can  be  built  for 
ten  dollars,  relief  is  not  a  serious  problem. 

In  the  spring  of  the  following  year  came  the  first 
great  disaster  within  our  own  territory  after  the  Red 
Cross  reorganization.  From  a  tiny  office  in  a  business 
building  a  member  of  the  Executive  Committee  and  the 
then  entire  office  force — the  Secretary — had  just  moved 
the  Red  Cross  headquarters  into  a  pleasant  room  loaned 
by  the  War  Department.  Hardly  were  the  desks  and 
chairs  in  place  when  on  the  morning  of  April  18th  the 
chief  clerk  of  the  surgeon  general  startled  the  atmosphere 
with  the  words,  "There  is  work  for  the  Red  Cross;  an 
earthquake  at  San  Francisco  and  the  city  is  in  flames. ' ' 

Immediate  telegrams  of  inquiry  and  offers  of  help 
brought  no  reply,  and  appeals  sent  from  the  Red  Cross 
at  San  Francisco  failed  to  get  through,  a  fact  that  sur- 
prises no  one  who  has  been  on  the  scene  of  a  disaster 
at  the  time  of  its  occurrence  or  shortly  afterwards,  but 
that  the  public,  in  the  serenity  of  normal  life,  attributes 
to  inexcusable  carelessness  on  the  part  of  someone. 

Calamities,  as  far  as  the  people  of  a  community  are 
concerned,  usually  pursue  the  same  general  order.  There 
is  first  the  terror  that  comes  from  fear  of  danger  and 
the  loss  of  life,  followed  by  a  relapse  into  a  dazed  help- 
lessness, which  later  produces  a  sense  of  hopeless  despair. 
How  long  each  condition  lasts  depends  upon  the  char- 
acter of  the  people.  To  the  credit  of  San  Francisco  it 
may  be  said  that  the  buoyant  nature  of  her  citizens 
brought  them  up  with  a  fine  promptness  and  courage 
to  meet  the  work  of  their  own  rehabilitation.  A  motto 
chalked  on  one  of  the  little  street  kitchens  well  describes 


142         UNDER  THE  RED  CROSS  FLAG 

the  spirit  that  prevailed:  "Make  the  best  of  it.  Forget 
the  rest  of  it." 

The  loss  of  life,  compared  with  the  extent  of  the  dis- 
aster, was  not  serious;  about  five  hundred  were  killed 
and  a  few  less  injured. 

The  earthquake  occurred  at  twelve  minutes  after 
five  in  the  morning,  and  at  a  quarter  before  seven  the 
first  citizens'  relief  committee  was  organized.  Pursued 
by  the  flames  from  building  to  building,  it  kept  at  its 
duties.  From  time  to  time  it  was  reorganized,  and 
finally  resolved  itself  into  the  Finance  Committee  of 
Relief  and  Red  Cross  Funds.  Conferences  were  held 
with  General  Funston,  later  with  General  Greeley,  and 
co-operative  plans  adopted.  Military  authority  was  ex- 
tended over  the  entire  city,  which  was  divided  into  dis- 
tricts, both  for  control  and  relief  purposes.  In  the  ' '  San 
Francisco  Relief  Survey,"  made  by  the  Russell  Sage 
Foundation,  is  epitomized  the  order  of  relief.  "An 
invisible  force  had  pushed  relief  through  four  broad 
channels:  food  had  to  be  supplied;  then  clothing,  along 
with  bed  and  common  household  necessities;  then  shel- 
ter, and  last,  the  means  to  make  one 's  own  provision  for 
the  future." 

For  the  first  few  days  millionaires  and  paupers  stood 
side  by  side  in  the  bread  line,  waiting  to  obtain  their 
daily  rations.  No  fires  were  permitted  in  the  houses 
that  remained  lest  the  cracked  and  twisted  chimneys 
might  start  the  conflagration  afresh.  As  rapidly  as  pos- 
sible the  abnormal  bread  lines  were  done  away  with. 
Families,  after  investigation,  received  a  card  with  which 
they  applied  for  rations  or  clothing  at  the  station  of 
their  district,  the  date  of  the  issuing  being  cancelled  on 
the  card  to  prevent  repeating,  as  one  energetic  Italian 
family  secured  enough  supplies  from  different  stations 
to  start  a  small  store  if  its  own.  Free  food  has  its 
temptations, — but  a  strict  adherence  to  army  rations 
tends  to  reduce  the  number  of  applicants. 


>   » 


•I 


SAN  FRANCISCO  143 

Calamities  upset  law  and  order,  moral  as  well  as 
physical.  At  such,  a  time  the  service  that  is  rendered  by 
the  United  States  army  is  deserving  of  the  highest 
praise.  Its  quiet  discipline  and  trained  personnel  bring 
order  out  of  chaos,  protect  life  and  property,  while  its 
stores  provide  rations  and  tents  for  the  first  immediate 
needs. 

In  all  the  open  squares  and  parks  of  the  city,  after 
the  hasty  blanket  or  quilt  shelters  of  the  first  day  or 
two  were  abandoned,  there  arose  colony  after  colony  of 
tents,  and,  thanks  to  the  climate  of  San  Francisco,  the 
people  throve  in  this  out-of-door  life.  Later,  as  the 
tents  became  weather  worn,  several  thousand  small 
wooden  houses  were  built  to  take  their  place.  When 
the  authorities  required  the  parks  to  be  vacated,  many 
of  these  small  dwellings  were  moved  away  as  permanent 
homes  for  their  occupants. 

Dr.  Edward  T.  Devine,  of  New  York,  represented 
the  Red  Cross  on  the  Relief  Committee,  and  his  trained 
ability  was  of  particular  value  in  the  problem  of  rehabil- 
itation. By  means  of  registration  not  only  were  families 
again  brought  together  and  long-delayed  letters  and  tele- 
grams delivered,  but  plans  for  the  refugees  to  make  their 
own  provision  for  the  future  became  practicable. 

The  sympathy  of  the  entire  country  was  aroused,  and 
money  by  telegram,  by  check,  by  letter  and  by  hand 
flowed  into  headquarters  and  to  the  Committee  Treas- 
urer at  San  Francisco.  Later  a  trial  for  dishonesty  on 
the  part  of  certain  city  officials  gave  rise  to  a  wrong  im- 
pression that  some  of  the  relief  funds  had  been  mis- 
appropriated. This  was  not  the  case,  as  these  funds 
were  never  handled  by  the  officials  in  question.  A  man 
in  charge  of  the  delivery  of  blankets  for  one  of  the 
camps  stole  a  wagon-load,  for  which  he  was  promptly 
arrested,  tried  and  convicted.  No  other  case  of  dishon- 
esty occurred,  though  it  is  probable  that  in  the  earlier 
days  petty  pilfering  of  stores  occasionally  took  place. 


144         UNDER  THE  RED  CROSS  FLAG 

Carload  after  carload  of  supplies  congested  the  rail- 
road yards.  So  fast  they  came  space  could  not  be  found 
for  their  contents,  and  frequently  butter,  eggs  and  other 
perishable  foods  sadly  wasted  their  best  days  mixed  up 
with  boxes  of  clothing  and  barrels  of  flour.  A  sudden 
wave  of  sympathy  for  the  babies  brought  such  a  quantity 
of  condensed  milk  that  General  Greeley  in  despair  sent 
a  hurried  dispatch  to  Washington  to  the  effect  that  there 
was  enough  on  hand  to  last  sixteen  years,  and  fresh 
milk  in  plenty  was  obtainable  from  the  surrounding 
country.  This  is  an  example  of  wasteful  enthusiasm  that 
is  without  suggestive  control.  No  one  thought  of  such  a 
prosaic  gift  as  soap  until  an  urgent  appeal  came  for 
the  much  needed  article.  The  lack  of  judgment  on  the 
part  of  some  in  the  sending  of  clothing  was  shown  in 
two  ways.  Ball  gowns  and  satin  slippers  were  hardly 
appropriate  garments  for  the  refugees,  and  yet  these 
were  scattered  through  the  miscellaneous  mass  of  cloth- 
ing that  poured  into  the  city.  Still  worse,  however, 
were  the  garments  so  soiled  and  dirty  that  they  were 
not  only  a  reflection  upon  their  donors  but  a  menace  to 
the  health  of  any  recipient  had  the  committee  not  dis- 
posed of  them  by  prompt  cremation.  One  indignant 
dame,  not  satisfied  with  a  supply  of  plain,  clean  and 
mostly  new  clothing  given  her,  sent  them  on  with  a  letter 
to  President  Roosevelt  as  a  sample  of  the  country's  gen- 
erosity. They  were  turned  over  to  the  Red  Cross  head- 
quarters and  handed  to  the  Salvation  Army,  which  ac- 
cepted them  gratefully. 

The  final  stage  of  relief,  the  rehabilitation  of  families, 
was  so  successfully  accomplished  that  eventually  not 
more  than  six  hundred  persons  were  left  permanently 
dependent.  These  were  cared  for  in  the  Relief  Home, — 
which  was  built  from  the  funds  and  turned  over  to  the 
city  to  maintain. 

Rehabilitation  was  generally  secured  by  means  of 
small  grants  of  money  after  careful  investigation  and 


CHERRY  MINE  DISASTER  145 

full  explanation  as  to  the  use  to  be  made  of  the  funds, 
whether  for  house  building,  restocking  of  small  stores, — • 
or  the  purchasing  of  tools  or  other  articles  useful  in  the 
earning  of  a  livelihood.  This  cannot  be  done  without 
some  heartburnings,  and  one  childless  woman  bom- 
barded the  "Honorable  Gentlemen"  at  headquarters  for 
many  months  with  vituperative  complaints  against  the 
San  Francisco  Committee,  because  her  neighbor,  with  a 
family  of  small  children,  had  received  a  larger  grant 
than  she. 

At  one  time  there  were  in  the  bread  line  over  three 
hundred  thousand  persons,  but  the  number  finally  which 
received  more  than  this  temporary  assistance  amounted 
to  some  twenty-seven  thousand  families. 

Not  all  disasters  are  alike  in  their  destruction.  In 
fires,  floods  and  cyclones  the  greatest  destruction  is  of 
property,  whereas  in  mine  explosions,  shipwrecks,  and 
epidemics  the  serious  loss  is  that  of  human  life.  Earth- 
quakes and  volcanic  eruptions  are  destructive  in  a  large 
measure  of  both  life  and  property. 

In  the  northwestern  corner  of  the  great  Illinois  coal 
field  grew  up  the  little  village  of  Cherry,  clustering 
around  the  shafts  of  the  mine.  Mr.  Bicknell  described 
graphically  the  scene  of  the  disaster  and  the  tragedy 
that  occurred  there.  ' '  Cherry  is  a  grimy,  dirty,  unkempt 
community.  It  lacks  water  and  lights  and  drainage. 
Sidewalks  are  mostly  cinder  paths.  The  streets  are  the 
black  prairie  soil  which  becomes  dust  in  summer  and 
mud  in  winter.  The  population  is  chiefly  of  young  and 
vigorous  people.  Nationalities  represented  are  many. 
Italians  and  Slavonians  are  most  numerous.  Besides, 
there  are  Americans,  Germans,  Austrians,  Russians, 
Greeks,  French,  Belgians,  Lithuanians,  English  and 
Scotch.  Many  are  recently  from  the  old  country  and 
ignorant  of  the  English  language." 

One  cold  grey  Saturday  afternoon  in  November  the 
Cherry  mine  caught  fire  from  a  load  of  hay  that  came 
10 


146         UNDER  THE  RED  CROSS  FLAG 

in  contact  with  a  torch.  The  flames  rapidly  spread 
through  the  two  shafts,  cutting  off  all  escape  for  a  large 
number  of  miners.  Eleven  rescuers  lost  their  lives  in 
an  heroic  effort  to  save  others.  "The  usual  and  normal 
processes  of  the  village  life  were  forgotten.  All  the 
thoughts  of  all  the  people  were  suddenly  converted  into 
the  emotions  of  hope  and  fear,  as  water  dropped  in 
molten  metal  turns  instantly  to  steam.  All  the  strength 
of  the  community  was  dedicated  to  effort  at  rescue.  Then 
came  the  suspense  of  waiting.  In  the  grey  of  dawn 
women,  with  babies  in  their  arms  and  other  babies  cling- 
ing to  their  skirts,  gathered  in  silent  groups  about  the 
shaft.  When  darkness  fell  they  melted  away  to  their 
desolate  homes.  They  scarcely  ate.  They  neglected 
their  children  and  themselves.  Occasionally  some  over- 
wrought watcher  at  the  shaft  would  burst  the  bounds  of 
frozen  grief  and  shriek  out  her  fears  in  wild,  formless 
cries.  But  these  incidents  served  only  to  accentuate  the 
dumb,  brooding,  terrible  silence  of  those  who  waited  as 
the  days  dragged  on." 

On  Thanksgiving  Day  sealed  caps  of  concrete  were 
laid  upon  the  mouths  of  both  shafts  to  smother  the  fire. 
Had  hope  survived  in  any  breast,  this  sealing  of  the  mine 
extinguished  its  last  spark. 

Governor  Deneen,  as  president  of  the  State  Red  Cross 
Board,  announced  that  no  aid  outside  was  required. 
Temporary  relief  was  provided  for  the  women  and  chil- 
dren, while  the  Red  Cross  national  director  perfected  a 
pension  system  for  permanent  aid.  The  State  appropri- 
ation of  one  hundred  thousand  dollars,  the  Red  Cross 
contribution  of  one  hundred  thousand  dollars,  the  miners' 
fund  of  seventy  thousand  dollars,  and  thirty  thousand 
dollars  from  other  sources  were  placed  in  a  common  fund, 
and  under  the  direction  of  a  competent  committee  pen- 
sions for  each  woman  and  each  child  under  sixteen  years 
of  age  were  provided.  The  families  were  kept  together 
and  the  mothers  required  to  send  the  children  to  school. 


FOREST  FIRES  147 

The  Red  Cross  became  the  wage  earner  of  the  family  and 
the  guardian  of  the  children.  The  mayor  of  Cherry  later 
wrote,  "The  plan  has  worked  like  a  charm." 

The  same  year  a  furious  gulf  storm  at  Key  West 
wrecked  the  little  fleet  of  fishing  boats,  the  means  of  live- 
lihood of  the  sponge  and  other  fishermen  of  the  com- 
munity. There  under  the  suggessions  of  the  Red  Cross 
representative  contributions  were  used  to  buy  boat  ma- 
terials and  the  men  paid  a  small  wage  while  they  were 
rebuilding  their  ships.  As  each  was  completed  its  owner 
was  taken  from  the  list  of  those  aided,  as  he  was  back 
in  a  position  to  again  support  himself. 

Another  governor  acted  promptly  on  a  State  disaster 
when  in  October,  1910,  Governor  Eberhardt  by  virtue  of 
his  position  as  president  of  the  Minnesota  Red  Cross 
board,  appealed  to  the  people  of  his  State  for  aid  for  the 
sufferers  from  a  forest  fire  close  to  the  Canadian  border. 
On  the  banks  of  the  Rainy  River  the  two  little  villages  of 
Beaudette  and  Spooner  were  burned  almost  entirely  to 
the  ground,  the  people  taking  refuge  in  streams,  wells 
and  root  cellars  to  save  their  lives.  They  were  honest 
farming  and  lumber  folk,  mainly  of  Scandinavian  ori- 
gin. It  was  October,  and  in  a  month  winter  would  be 
upon  them. 

When  the  Red  Cross  arrived  it  found  them  sad  and 
dejected  amidst  the  ashes  of  their  little  homes.  Fate 
seemed  to  be  driving  them  away  to  add  to  the  pauper 
classes  of  the  cities  of  the  State.  But  cheer  came  with 
this  wonderful  organization  of  help.  Lumber,  duty  free, 
was  permitted  by  the  Treasury  Department  to  be  im- 
ported from  Canada,  as  there  was  no  other  near  at  hand. 
A  few  master  carpenters  were  brought  to  the  place,  and 
building  "bees"  were  immediately  in  order.  There  a 
group  of  men,  busy  with  saw  and  hammer,  raised  a  little 
house  for  Ole  Oleson,  and  when  this  was  finished  next 
door  they  moved  to  build  one  for  Jan  Jansen.  Where 
there  had  been  despair  and  desolation  there  arose  courage 


148         UNDER  THE  RED  CROSS  FLAG 

and  happiness,  as  they  sang  and  whistled  over  their  work. 
In  a  month  every  one  in  the  two  villages  was  under  shel- 
ter. It  was  a  race  between  the  Red  Cross  and  Jack  Frost, 
and  the  Red  Cross  won. 

In  the  middle  of  Lake  Taal,  in  the  island  of  Luzon, 
there  arises  a  low  volcano,  only  a  few  hundred  feet  above 
the  surface  of  the  water.  Little  Philippine  villages  dot 
the  coast  of  the  volcanic  island  and  the  opposite  shore  of 
the  lake.  It  was  a  primitive,  if  modern,  Pompeii  that 
was  reproduced  by  the  volcanic  eruption  of  Mt.  Taal 
before  daybreak  on  the  morning  of  January  30,  1911.  In 
the  twinkling  of  an  eye  more  than  thirteen  hundred 
sleeping  people  were  destroyed.  The  explosion  awoke 
far  away  Manila,  and  shattered  churches  and  buildings 
in  distant  towns.  For  a  century  and  a  half  the  volcano 
had  slumbered,  and  the  people  had  so  lost  their  fear  that 
even  on  its  very  slopes  were  built  the  grass  houses  of  the 
natives.  The  country  round  about  was  green  with  rich 
tropical  vegetation  when,  like  a  great,  all-enveloping 
mantle,  there  fell  upon  it  for  many  miles  the  mass  of 
grey  ashes.  The  sulphurous  fumes  seem  to  have  overcome 
man  and  beast,  for  many  of  the  unfortunate  people  were 
found  with  their  faces  buried  in  the  ground  in  the  effort 
to  escape  them.  After  the  eruption  a  tidal  wave  swept 
over  the  lower  villages,  carrying  into  the  lake  many  of 
the  ruins  caused  by  the  eruption. 

From  the  Red  Cross  in  Washington  a  thousand  dol- 
lars was  immediately  cabled  to  the  governor,  and  more 
aid  was  offered;  but  with  an  independent  spirit  highly 
to  be  commended,  the  islands  declined  further  assistance ; 
and  the  local  Red  Cross  received  fifteen  thousand  dollars 
in  contributions.  No  roads  ran  around  the  lake,  and 
boats  had  to  be  drawn  up  by  ropes  from  the  sea  through 
the  shallow  river  so  that  the  relief  parties  could  reach 
the  sufferers.  A  field  hospital  was  established  to  give 
immediate  care  to  the  injured  who  had  been  burned  by 
the  hot  ashes  and  who  were  later  removed  by  boat  to 


A  CITY  HOLOCAUST  149 

other  places.  The  native  survivors  uttered  no  complaint, 
gave  no  sign  of  emotion  and  asked  for  no  assistance. 

As  soon  as  it  could  be  done  the  widows  and  orphans 
were  sought  out,  and  rice  and  dry  fish  provided  them  for 
food.  The  Government  allotted  funds  to  employ  the 
men  on  public  roads,  and  the  contributed  moneys  were 
used  to  tide  the  people  over  until  the  next  harvest.  The 
lavish  hand  of  Nature  in  the  islands  in  a  few  months' 
time  began  to  cover  with  the  greenness  of  grass,  sugar 
cane  and  bamboo  the  scars  she  herself  had  wrought. 

In  mine  disasters  the  loss  of  the  wage  earner  of  the 
family  leaves  many  dependent,  but  after  any  destruc- 
tion of  human  life,  except  where  only  children  are  con- 
cerned, persons  will  be  found  wihose  support  has  perished 
with  the  disaster.  The  Triangle  Waist  Factory  fire, 
which  occurred  on  a  Saturday  afternoon  of  March,  1911, 
found  between  four  and  five  hundred  persons  entrapped 
on  the  upper  floor  of  a  large  building  in  lower  New 
York  City.  One  hundred  and  forty-five,  mainly  young 
women,  perished  in  this  tragic  disaster.  Three-fourths 
of  the  families  in  which  the  deaths  occurred  were  Jew- 
ish, and  all  save  three  of  the  remainder  were  Italians. 
In  many  cases  the  women  proved  to  have  been  the  main- 
stay of  the  family. 

According  to  the  policy  of  the  Red  Cross,  there  was 
added  to  its  local  standing  emergency  committee  several 
persons  whose  experience  and  counsel  Were  of  special 
value — the  president  of  the  United  Hebrew  Charities, 
the  president  of  the  St.  Vincent  de  Paul  Society,  a  repre- 
sentative of  a  large  insurance  company  and  a  represent- 
ative of  the  Italian  community.  Immediate  provision 
was  made  for  the  care  of  the  injured  and  those  who  had 
suffered  from  severe  nervous  shock,  and  to  aid  the  needi- 
est families  in  meeting  the  funeral  expenses  of  the  vic- 
tims. In  cases  where  a  lump  sum  could  be  used  to  advan- 
tage, this  was  given.  Several  families  were  thereby  en- 


150         UNDER  THE  RED  CROSS  FLAG 

abled  to  start  small  grocery  or  fruit  stores.  To  others 
who  were  left  helpless  and  disorganized  a  pension  was 
provided.  A  certain  portion  of  the  relief  funds  was 
transmitted  to  Europe  to  aid  old  and  dependent  relatives 
there,  and  one  old  Italian  woman  who  lost  her  daughter, 
her  only  support,  was  sent  back  to  Italy,  with  a  thousand 
dollars,  as  she  desired  to  enter  a  convent  there. 

It  is  not  often  that  more  can  be  done  in  relief  work 
than  to  meet  the  actual  needs  created  by  the  disaster,  but 
in  the  case  of  the  Triangle  Waist  Factory  fire  the  com- 
mittee were  able  to  consider  the  sorrow  of  the  relatives  of 
the  unfortunate  victims  whose  bodies  were  not  identified 
and  to  gratify  their  natural  desire  for  some  remembrance 
by  the  erection  in  a  cemetery  where  many  were  buried, 
of  a  monument  typifying  grief  in  the  bowed  figure  of  a 
young  woman. 

A  similar  relief  problem  occurred  after  the  loss  of 
the  Titanic,  but  with  certain  additional  complications 
because  of  the  organization  of  several  committees,  raising 
and  administering  funds,  and  because  of  the  advisability 
of  making  an  agreement  with  the  English  committee, 
which  received  more  than  two  million  dollars.  The  Red 
Cross  worked  in  a  co-operative  way,  and  a  satisfactory 
arrangement  with  the  British  committee  was  brought 
about  whereby  the  American  funds  were  devoted  to  the 
needs  of  the  survivors  in  the  Western  Hemisphere.  A 
special  Red  Cross  agent  was  sent  to  Halifax  to  identify 
as  far  as  possible  the  bodies  of  persons  whose  relatives 
were  too  poor  to  do  this  themselves.  So  many  men  were 
drowned  that  a  large  number  of  emigrant  families  were 
left  without  the  husband  and  father.  Others  had  brought 
with  them  all  their  worldly  property,  much  of  which 
went  down  with  the  steamer;  and  still  others  suffered 
from  physical  injury.  Again  grants  were  made  or  pen- 
sions provided.  An  old  dependent  father  in  Brazil  has 
received  a  monthly  pension  ever  since  the  disaster,  and 


AN  EPIDEMIC  OF  DISASTERS  151 

several  widows  with  children  have  been  taken  care  of  in 
the  same  way. 

A  curious  incident  in  regard  to  an  impostor  developed 
in  this  relief  work.  A  boy  of  about  sixteen  years  of  age 
claimed  assistance  as  a  survivor.  So  vivid  was  his 
description  of  his  experience  during  the  shipwreck  that 
it  seemed  impossible  to  doubt  his  statement.  Later,  on 
investigation,  he  was  found  to  be  of  deficient  mentality. 
The  reading  of  the  account  in  the  papers  had  made  such 
an  impression  on  his  peculiar  mind  that  he  became  hon- 
estly convinced  that  he  had  himself  endured  the  horrors 
of  the  shipwreck. 

In  March,  1913,  what  may  be  termed  an  epidemic  of 
disasters  followed  each  other.  On  the  twenty-first  of  the 
month  a  tornado  swept  across  lower  Alabama,  wrenching 
and  twisting  great  trees  from  their  trunks  like  straws, 
raising  houses  bodily  from  their  foundation  and  leveling 
them  with  the  ground.  The  force  of  the  wind  in  these 
tornadoes  is  almost  unbelievable.  At  one  place  a  house 
was  completely  destroyed  and  every  inmate  killed.  Not 
far  away  another  was  lifted  from  its  foundation  over 
the  head  of  its  terrified  occupants,  who  found  themselves 
tumbling  and  rolling  upon  the  ground  without  serious 
injury.  It  was  marvelous  that  any  escaped,  the  destruc- 
tion of  everything  in  the  path  of  the  tornado  was  so  com- 
plete. After  the  injured  had  been  taken  care  of,  the 
relief  of  the  Red  Cross  took  the  form  of  aid  in  the 
rebuilding  of  simple  houses,  and  in  one  case  where  the 
rural  postman's  horse  had  been  killed  another  was  pro- 
vided so  that  he  could  continue  his  duties  and  support 
his  family. 

Two  days  later,  on  Easter  eve — the  twenty-third — 
clouds  of  inky  blackness  heralded  "a  funnel-shaped 
twister"  that  cut  a  narrow  channel  of  awful  destruc- 
tion through  the  city  of  Omaha.  The  institutional  mem- 
bers of  the  Red  Cross  at  Chicago  and  St.  Louis  were  re- 
quested by  wire  to  proceed  to  Omaha  to  offer  Red  Cross 


152         UNDER  THE  RED  CROSS  FLAG 

aid  and  to  be  of  any  assistance  desired.  The  National 
director  started  from  Washington.  He  had  gotten  no 
farther  than  Chicago  when  the  third  disaster  halted  him 
on  his  journey.  Since  the  San  Francisco  fire  no  such 
serious  calamity  had  occurred  in  the  United  States  until 
the  great  Ohio  floods  of  1913.  It  is  a  strange  fact  that 
about  the  same  number  of  families  required  aid  in  these 
floods  as  in  the  earthquake  and  fire  at  the  Golden  Gate. 
But  the  problem,  because  of  the  large  number  of  cities, 
towns  and  villages,  was  far  more  complicated.  On  the 
other  hand,  thanks  to  Governor  Cox's  prompt  and  wise 
decision,  the  relief  operations  were  placed  in  the  hands 
of  the  Red  Cross  so  that  there  was  one,  and  not  a  multi- 
tude of  agencies  in  charge.  As  president  of  the  State 
Red  Cross  Board,  he  called  a  meeting  of  its  members  at 
Columbus.  This  meeting  was  attended  also  by  the  chair- 
man of  the  National  Relief  Board,  who  reached  the  State 
capital  by  a  roundabout  journey  to  Knoxville  and  Cin- 
cinnati, and  by  the  National  director,  after  having  been 
marooned  for  forty-eight  hours  by  the  floods  farther 
west.  The  Army,  as  usual,  had  promptly  come  to  the  aid 
of  the  people,  the  Secretary  of  War  and  the  chief-of -staff 
having  gone  in  person  to  the  flooded  district.  Almost 
the  entire  State  of  Ohio  was  involved,  and  many  river 
communities  in  West  Virginia,  Kentucky,  Indiana  and 
Illinois  ^suffered  serious  damage. 

In  the  bright  spring  sunshine  of  a  Sunday  morning 
only  a  few  days  after  the  disaster,  with  the  rivers  back 
again  within  their  banks,  save  for  the  scenes  of  ruin  and 
desolation  on  every  hand,  it  was  difficult  to  realize  the 
terrifying  experiences  that  had  so  lately  been  undergone. 
The  agonizing  hours  passed  by  those  clinging  to  sway- 
ing trees  until  some  dropped  from  sheer  exhaustion  into 
the  raging  currents  below,  the  strain  and  weariness  of 
waiting  without  food  or  shelter  on  some  rocking  cottage 
roof  in  the  cold  and  pitiless  rain  for  the  waters  to  sub- 
side or  a  rescuing  boat  to  appear,  the  fear  of  being 


CHECKING  EXPENDITURES  153 

swept  away  as  huge  logs  or  parts  of  wreckage  beat  like 
a  battering  ram  against  the  houses,  trembling  in  the 
torrents  of  roaring  water,  were  gone  with  the  earlier 
days  of  the  disaster.  Out  in  the  streets,  in  the  gardens 
and  the  lawns  were  broken  and  mud-covered  furniture, 
drying  in  the  sun,  while  men  and  women  with  hoes  and 
spades  were  patiently  shoveling  out  sediment  that  lay 
inches  deep  over  all  the  lower  floors. 

The  story  of  the  relief  work  need  not  be  again  re- 
peated. Into  the  field  the  Red  Cross  placed  over  sixty 
experts  to  assist  and  advise  the  local  committees  that 
were  organized.  By  means  of  its  registration  cards  the 
number  of  families  in  each  city,  town  or  village  who 
required  assistance  was  obtained,  and  the  appropriation 
for  each  community  was  based  upon  these  records,  a  task 
that  without  this  method  would  have  been  almost  impos- 
sible to  accomplish  justly  and  would  have  led  to  infinite 
dissatisfaction. 

The  funds  were  not  handled  by  the  Red  Cross  repre- 
sentatives in  any  save  a  very  few  small  localities,  but 
were  placed  to  the  credit  of  the  treasurer  of  a  local  com- 
mittee, such  committee  having  first  to  obtain  the  ap- 
proval of  its  personel  by  the  Red  Cross  National  director. 
In  the  paying  out  of  all  funds  the  vouchers  had  to 
receive  the  approval  of  the  local  Led  Cross  representa- 
tive. In  this  way  a  double  check  was  placed  upon  the 
expenditures.  As  an  example  of  certain  methods  in  the 
relief  work  an  arrangement  may  be  cited  from  Dayton 
where  about  five  thousand  families  required  furniture. 
A  grant  of  a  certain  amount  was  made  to  each  accord- 
ing to  its  needs.  The  grant,  however,  was  not  made  in 
money  but  in  the  form  of  an  order  for  the  amount  on  any 
one  of  some  twelve  furniture  stores  in  the  city  that  had 
suffered  heavy  losses.  In  this  way  the  families  were 
provided  with  what  they  needed  and  at  the  same  time, 
though  desiring  no  donations  from  relief  funds,  busi- 


154          UNDER  THE  RED  CROSS  FLAG 

ness  men  of  the  city  were  assisted  to  re-establish  them- 
selves. 

Tragic  as  disasters  are,  they  are  rarely  without  some 
touch  of  humor.  A  small  place  of  two  hundred  and 
fourteen  houses  with  the  ambitious  name  of  Future  City 
near  Cairo,  Illinois,  where  the  Ohio  enters  the  Mississippi 
River,  was  the  scene  of  a  lively  chase  on  the  part  of  its 
citizens.  Warned  of  the  approach  of  the  flood,  they  had 
escaped  to  the  levees  or  to  high  ground.  One  after  an- 
other of  the  little  frame  dwellings  arose  from  its  founda- 
tion and  floated  away  on  the  flood-waters.  Beholding 
this  desertion  on  the  part  of  their  property,  a  sudden  in- 
spiration seized  their  owners.  Several  motor  boats 
were  secured,  and,  greatly  to  the  excitement  and  enter- 
tainment of  the  crowds  on  the  tops  of  the  levees,  a 
remarkable  chase  after  the  runaways  took  place.  "A 
boat  would  dash  alongside  of  a  house,  her  crew  would 
quickly  attach  a  rope  to  some  convenient  projection,  and 
the  chugging  motor  would  tow  her  back  to  Future  City. 
Water  was  deep  over  all,  and  no  one  could  determine  the 
exact  spot  from  which  the  house  had  come,  but  it  would 
be  brought  back  to  its  own  neighborhood  and  anchored 
to  a  tree  or  telegraph  pole.  Then  away  would  hurry  the 
motor  boat  for  another  capture."  One  hundred  and 
sixty-eight  houses  were  caught  and  brought  home.  When 
the  waters  receded,  there  they  lay,  in  their  muddy  beds, 
not  one  on  its  own  foundation,  many  of  them  on  their 
sides,  and  some  resting  even  on  their  roofs. 

Here  the  Bed  Cross  came  to  the  aid  of  the  deserving 
people.  The  former  location  of  each  dwelling  was  identi- 
fied, and  an  estimate  secured  from  contractors  of  the  cost 
of  returning  the  houses.  Wherever  any  one  of  the  owners 
could  by  his  own  labors  lessen  the  estimated  cost  he 
was  allowed  the  balance  for  the  repairs  after  the  house 
was  again  in  place.  By  an  expenditure  of  about  twenty- 
two  thousand  dollars,  Future  City  was  entirely  re-estab- 


ENCOURAGEMENT  DISPLACES  GLOOM  155 

lished.  "The  cardinal  principles  of  the  American  Red 
Cross  clearly  had  been  held  in  view.  The  initiative  and 
detail  had  been  carried  by  a  committee  of  local  people. 
The  recipients  of  awards  had  been  placed  under  obliga- 
tions to  do  as  much  additional  for  themselves  as  was 
practicable  under  all  the  conditions  of  the  case.  Encour- 
agement by  this  assistance  displaced  gloom,  defeat  and 
discontent  in  the  entire  community.  Doubt  as  to  the 
wisdom  of  frugality  and  independence  was  removed." 
Nothing  more  than  a  bird's  eye  view  has  been  given 
in  these  few  brief  stories  of  some  great  fields  of  Red 
Cross  work,  but  enough  to  illustrate  generally  its  methods 
and  its  policies.  It  purposes  to  injure  neither  the  self- 
reliance  of  the  individual  nor  the  community,  but  by 
means  of  its  trained  personnel  and  its  relief  methods, 
gained  from  long  practical  experience,  to  arouse  confi- 
dence and  courage,  which,  with  such  assistance,  will  bring 
about  prompt  rehabilitation  and  the  return  of  normal 
conditions. 


CHAPTER  X 

PUBLIC  IDEAS  OF  RELIEF  MEASURES.  BREAD  LINES. 
CLOTHING  BUREAUS.  REFUGEE  CAMPS.  MONEY. 
RED  CROSS  METHODS.  REHABILITATION. 

"EXTRA!"  shouts  the  shrill  voice  of  the  newsboy. 
"Tumble  disaster.  Thousands  killed."  The  air  be- 
comes electric  with  excitement.  The  public  thrills  with 
sensational  emotion.  A  momentary  dread  sweeps  over 
the  individual  that  the  catastrophe  may  have  some  indi- 
rect connection  with  himself,  but  this  fear  once  allayed 
he  gives  himself  up  to  the  telling  and  hearing  of  some 
new  thing.  The  psychological  effect  produced  upon  the 
public  by  serious  disasters  makes  an  interesting  study. 
Not  unsympathetic,  yet  craving  the  sensational,  it  gauges 
the  size  of  the  catastrophe  by  the  number  who  have  been 
killed  rather  than  by  the  number  who  are  suffering 
Exaggerated  estimates  of  the  fatalities  fill  the  papers, 
save  when  some  fearful  earthquake  or  volcanic  eruption 
destroys  such  appalling  numbers  that  even  the  press  hesi- 
tates before  the  truth.  Taking  into  consideration  the 
public's  unit  of  measure,  which  largely  influences  its 
giving,  these  early  exaggerations  result  in  benefit  to  the 
survivors. 

Several  years  ago  when  the  volcanic  eruption  in  the 
Island  of  Martinique  destroyed  the  town  of  St.  Pierre,  as 
soon  as  the  startling  new  reached  this  country  immedi- 
ate means  were  taken  to  secure  relief  funds,  and  over 
eighty  thousand  dollars  were  received  before  it  was 
learned  that  there  was  only  one  survivor,  the  rest  of  the 
entire  population  having  been  instantly  blotted  out  of 
existence.  The  individual  who  escaped  owed  his  life  to 
the  fact  that  being  a  prisoner  he  was  so  closely  confined 
even  death  itself  was  unable  to  reach  him.  This  sole 
refugee  evidently  lacked  the  enterprise  of  certain  others 
who  have  been  known  elsewhere,  or  a  lawsuit  would 
156 


PUBLIC  IDEAS  OF  RELIEF  MEASURES  157 

have  been  promptly  instituted  on  his  behalf  as  the  right- 
ful claimant  of  the  funds  contributed  for  the  benefit  of 
the  survivors  of  the  eruption.  These  were  returned  to 
such  donors  as  desired,  and  the  remainder,  with  the  con- 
sent of  the  contributors,  was  given  for  various  philan- 
thropic purposes. 

If  there  is  little  else  of  interest  to  fill  the  papers,  the 
details  of  a  calamity  are  more  fully  reported,  and  the 
story  is  prolonged  from  day  to  day,  until  the  laggards 
in  generosity  are  moved  to  give.  Sometimes  a  serious 
disaster  is  blanketed  by  the  occurrence  of  a  lesser  one 
which  presents  more  sensational  features.  At  the  time 
of  the  Titanic  loss  a  great  flood  was  causing  serious  dan- 
ger, loss  and  suffering  to  many  thousands  of  persons, 
but  the  sinking  of  the  immense  steamer,  the  large  number 
of  prominent  persons  drowned,  the  dramatic  experience 
of  the  survivors  and  the  tragic  stories  of  those  who  per- 
ished overshadowed  the  appealing  needs  of  the  unfortu- 
nate people  of  the  Mississippi  Valley. 

The  first  excitement  as  to  the  immediate  fatalities 
having  died  away,  the  public,  save  such  as  may  have  come 
in  direct  contact  with  the  suffering,  questions  little  of  the 
injured.  Those  in  the  towns  near  Messina  and  Reggio 
who  helped  unload  the  flat  cars  of  their  pitiful  human 
freight,  who  saw  the  crushed  and  mangled  bodies  and 
witnessed  the  agonies  of  the  wretched  victims  can  never 
obliterate  from  their  memories  those  awful  scenes  of 
human  misery.  One  who  was  at  Taormina  gives  a  vivid 
description  of  her  experience.  "  If  I  wrote  for  hours  I 
could  not  tell  you  of  the  horrors  we  have  seen  in  the 
last  three  days.  During  the  first  day  the  long  trains 
came  in  perhaps  every  hour  with  the  wounded  and  the 
dying  huddled  together  with  the  refugees,  all  with  that 
frightened  look  of  horror  on  their  faces.  When  the 
officials  thought  the  people  were  dying  they  would  be 
taken  off  at  our  station,  and  we  had  arranged  the  waiting 
room  into  a  place  to  receive  them.  When  the  tables  were 


158         UNDER  THE  RED  CROSS  FLAG 

all  full  they  would  have  to  go  on  the  floor — poor,  poor 
people,  sometimes  you  could  hardly  see  for  the  blood 
that  they  were  human  beings,  and  they  were  mangled 
beyond  words,  some  had  both  arms  and  legs  broken,  many 
had  not  eaten  for  days  and  their  thirst  was  terrible. ' ' 

Often  even  the  sufferers  themselves,  beholding  the 
destruction  of  the  butcher  and  the  baker  shops,  become 
hysterical  over  the  fear  of  famine,  and  frantic  appeals 
are  made  to  the  War  Department  to  send  millions  of 
rations  to  prevent  starvation.  Little  do  they  realize 
what  actual  famine  and  starvation  mean  or  how  long  the 
human  body  can  retain  life  without  food  or  nourishment. 
It  is  true  that  in  floods  of  long  duration  when  persons 
are  marooned  in  upper  stories,  or  in  the  destruction  by 
earthquakes  are  entrapped  for  days  in  cellars  and  unable 
to  obtain  food,  much  suffering  results;  but  even  then 
hardly  ever  actual  starvation. 

The  entire  neighborhood  surrounding  the  scene  of  a 
disaster,  with  bewildering  generosity  loads  wagons,  car- 
riages and  automobiles  with  all  the  available  food  sup- 
plies upon  which  it  can  lay  its  hands.  When  the  forests 
on  the  steep  slopes  of  Mount  Tamalpias  burst  into  flames 
one  July  day,  strenuous  were  the  efforts  of  five  thousand 
men  to  extinguish  the  fires.  To  the  rescue  of  this  vali- 
ant army  went  the  San  Francisco  Bed  Cross,  with  such 
a  supply  of  ''eatables,  drinkables  and  smokeables"  that 
the  fire-fighters  were  reported  as  vanquishing  the  fire 
with  one  hand  and  the  sandwiches  with  the  other,  while 
the  smoke  of  many  pounds  of  tobacco  joined  with  that  of 
the  forests. 

Following  the  lead  or  the  nearer  neighborhood,  the 
more  distant  parts  of  the  country  fill  to  overflowing 
freight  cars  and  hurry  them  off  to  the  unfortunate  com- 
munity. Railroad  companies  in  spite  often  of  serious 
losses  themselves,  give  free  transportation  for  relief  sup- 
plies, while  telegraph  and  telephone  companies  transmit 
Red  Cross  Messages  without  charge.  Tlie  War  Depart- 


BREAD  LINES  159 

ment,  on  urgent  appeals,  rushes  rations  by  the  thousands 
to  the  scene,  so  that  it  is  doubtful  if  in  any  of  our  na- 
tional disasters  the  victims  have  ever  suffered  long  from 
hunger.  In  fact,  there  have  been  occasions  when  the 
sight  seeing  crowds  attracted  to  the  spot  have  had  to  be 
fed  upon  donations,  as  there  was  no  other  way  of  ap- 
peasing their  needs.  This  generosity  is  not  to  be  discour- 
aged. Its  promptness  prevents  much  suffering,  and 
saves  the  relief  funds  for  the  assistance  that  only  money 
can  provide. 

One  of  the  most  familiar  sights  connected  with  relief 
is  the  bread  line.  A  motley  throng  of  men,  women  and 
children  straggle  down  the  street,  around  a  corner  and 
a  block  or  two  away.  Card  in  hand  and  basket  on  arm, 
patiently  they  stand,  advancing  slowly  to  their  goal.  The 
supply  station  may  be  in  some  large  armory,  down  the 
length  of  which  stretches  an  interminable  counter,  sepa- 
rating pyramids  of  comestibles  from  the  waiting  refu- 
gees. At  the  entrance  the  cards  giving  the  name  of  the 
applicant  and  the  number  in  the  family  are  scrutinized 
by  an  inspector,  who  passes  on  their  owners  or  turns 
them  back  should  suspicion  be  aroused.  Down  the  long 
counter  moves  the  line.  Into  the  waiting  baskets  are 
stowed  here  a  loaf  of  bread,  there  a  package  of  tea,  until 
the  rations  for  each  are  completed.  Mrs.  McGinnis  may 
stumble  over  small,  black-eyed  Guiseppi  in  her  anxiety 
to  see  if  Mrs.  Rosenbaum  has  a  larger  package  of  cod- 
fish than  she;  and  Madame  Martine  may  protest  in 
broken  English  that  she  should  have  more  sugar  for  her 
numerous  offspring,  yet  it  is  generally  a  silent,  orderly 
procession,  that  accepts  without  thanks  or  comment  what 
is  given. 

It  is  difficult  at  first  to  keep  fraudulent  applicants 
out  of  the  bread  line,  for  in  the  earlier  days  one  must  go 
on  the  principle  "better  let  a  hundred  impostors  be  fed 
than  one  honest  man  go  hungry."  For  this  reason,  and 
for  a  still  stronger  one,  bread  lines  should  be  done  away 


160         UNDER  THE  RED  CROSS  FLAG 

with  as  soon  as  possible.  They  are  a  constant  reminder 
of  an  abnormal  condition  and  tend  to  prolong  the  de- 
pendency of  the  people.  When  material  aid  must  be 
given,  orders  on  local  tradespeople  for  food  supplies 
should  be  substituted,  thus  turning  the  relief  work  into  a 
more  normal  channel  and  at  the  same  time  helping  to 
restore  the  busines  of  the  community.  This  is  the  policy 
of  the  Red  Cross. 

The  needs  of  the  inner  man  having  been  duly  at- 
tended to,  the  next  consideration  involves  the  clothing 
problem.  In  this,  both  at  the  source  of  the  contribution 
and  at  its  distribution  human  nature  manifests  itself  in 
many  ways.  There  are  some  among  the  donors  who  evi- 
dently consider  disasters  a  Providential  opportunity  pro- 
vided for  the  clearing  out  of  long  accumulated  attic  rub- 
bish ;  but  these  are  the  exception,  far  the  greater  number 
pour  out  their  gifts  with  a  wealth  of  generous  spirit 
where  often  there  is  little  wealth  beside.  There  is  the 
sympathetic  old  lady,  unmindful  of  next  winter's  need, 
who  brings  her  soft,  warm  shawl  "for  some  poor  soul 
who  may  be  glad  to  have  it, ' '  or  the  laboring  man  who 
stops  at  some  collecting  station  in  a  distant  town  to  leave 
his  overcoat  with  an  "I  don't  need  it,  as  spring  will  soon 
be  here. ' '  Sometimes  the  black-garbed  mother,  with  tear- 
ful eyes,  lays  beside  the  packer's  box  a  bundle  of  babies' 
clothes  that  her  child  no  longer  needs.  The  liveried 
footman  from  the  luxurious  motor  brings  a  great  box 
of  newly  purchased  garments,  while  the  street  urchin 
drops  on  the  floor  in  a  corner  to  take  off  his  shoes,  "Be- 
cause I  don 't  mind  going  barefoot,  lady,  and  maybe  some 
other  boy'd  catch  cold  without  any  shoes."  The  touch  of 
sorrow  makes  the  whole  world  kin. 

At  the  bureau  of  distribution  great  wagons  dump 
boxes,  bales  and  barrels  of  clothing.  Into  the  unpack- 
ing room  they  go,  where  busy  women  sort  them  out — 
men's,  women's  and  children's  coats,  and  dresses,  hats 
and  underwear,  shoes  and  stockings,  .each  having  their 


CLOTHING  BUREAUS  161 

particular  pile  upon  which  requisitions  can  be  made. 
What  a  metamorphosis  a  large  school  building  presents 
when  used  for  a  clothing  station.  Here,  where  belong 
the  books  and  papers  the  desks  are  covered  with  shoes, 
some  new,  some  old,  the  little  ones  on  the  front  row  and 
the  larger  ones  at  the  back.  The  seats  are  filled  with 
women  and  children,  busily  trying  on  shoes,  with  half 
an  eye  glued  to  all  the  new  ones  in  the  vicinity.  From 
the  cloak  room  nails  hang  coats  and  cloaks  as  many 
hued  as  the  rainbow  and  all-embracing  as  to  styles. 

Escorted  by  one  of  the  clothing  committee,  a  refugee 
family  makes  its  rounds.  What  is  becoming  to  Mary  is 
long  considered.  Shall  Tommy,  who  looks  with  covet- 
ous eyes  on  long  trousers,  be  advanced  to  such  a  dig- 
nity ?  Shall  mother  accept  a  coat  or  a  shawl  as  best  suited 
to  her  figure  ?  All  these  are  problems  that  the  committee 
member  helps  to  solve.  Many  a  criticism  is  passed  upon 
the  fashion  of  the  garments,  but  what  matter  if  there  is 
a  look  into  the  gift  horse 's  mouth.  Poor  souls,  how  many 
of  them  have  lost  the  simple  treasures  of  a  lifetime  that 
no  money  can  replace. 

There  are  always  a  few  to  whom  a  disaster  proves  a 
bonanza.  They  belong  to  that  social  strata  who  have 
owned  little,  lived  in  cheap  lodging  houses,  and  who  prac- 
tically lost  nothing  because  they  had  nothing  to  lose. 
Ashes  tell  no  tales,  and  who  can  gainsay  their  stories  of 
lost  property.  They  must  share  together,  the  just  and 
the  unjust,  and  one  hardly  begrudges  them  the  small 
stroke  of  good  fortune.  It  is  an  ill  wind  that  blows  no- 
body good. 

Among  the  household  necessities  the  stove  occupies  an 
especially  honorable  position.  "Oh,  Miss,  won't  you 
please  help  me  get  a  stove.  Here  am  I,  a  real  born 
American,  and  all  these  furriners  are  getting  ahead  of 
me,"  pleads  an  elderly  and  respectably  arrayed  dame. 
"Perhaps  you  think  me  rich  because  I  have  got  on  this 
black  silk  dress.  But,  mercy,  no.  I  just  put  on  my  best 
11 


162         UNDER  THE  RED  CROSS  FLAG 

clothes  to  save  them  when  I  saw  the  fire  comin'  our  way. 
You  may  think  me  fat.  Bless  you,  dear ;  I  have  got  one 
dress  on  top  of  the  other  for  I  don 't  like  to  leave  either  of 
them  in  the  place  we  have  got.  There  are  some  folks 
would  steal  even  a  poor  body 's  clothes  off  their  back.  I 
haven't  had  a  bit  of  help,  and  there's  that  Mrs.  Krasno- 
koutski,  a  shiftless  creature  with  a  dozen  children,  got 
a  lot  of  furniture  when  she  never  owned  so  much  as  a 
kitchen  chair  before  the  fire.  Some  people  have  all  the 
luck.  My  poor  old  man,  he  is  over  eighty,  been  in  bed 
with  rheumatics  ever  since  that  awful  night;  well  nigh 
killed  him — and  I  haven't  even  a  stove  to  cook  his  din- 
ner. It  comes  mighty  hard  when  you  are  seventy-five 
years  old  to  be  asking  for  charity.  There  is  that  Eyetal- 
ian  fruit-man  that  cheated  me  last  week  going  off  with 
a  bundle  of  clothing  big  enough  for  a  boarding  house, 
and  me,  that  was  born  in  this  very  town,  ain't  got  so 
much  as  a  single  stove."  And  the  tears  rolled  down 
the  cheeks  of  the  poor  old  lady.  "Never  mind,"  say 
you  of  the  committee,  "this  is  not  charity,  this  is  the 
Bed  Cross."  And  the  tears  on  the  wrinkled  cheeks  are 
brushed  away  with  a  sense  of  comforted  and  re-estab- 
lished respectability.  It  is  true  that  after  you  have 
seated  the  ancient  American  refugee  on  a  comfortable 
bench  and  with  some  indignation  approached  a  table, 
back  of  which  is  seated  a  business-like  young  man  or 
woman,  to  inquire  why  Mrs.  Jeremiah  Allen,  of  23 
Trimble  Street,  has  not  been  provided  with  anything, 
not  even  a  stove,  you  may  be  a  bit  chagrined  to  learn  by 
the  registration  cards  that  chairs,  food,  clothing  and 
various  other  articles  have  been  bestowed  upon  Mrs.  J. 
Allen  at  the  same  address.  The  old  lady's  anxiety  to 
obtain  the  stove  led  her  somewhat  away  from  the  nar- 
row path  of  truth.  When  you  finally  return  triumphant 
with  the  stove  order  in  hand  you  find  her  happy  with  a 
ten-dollar  bill  that  she  announces  "the  minister  over  to 
$he  First  Congregational  Church  where  I  go  once  in  a 


CLOTHING  BUREAUS  163 

while,  gave  me.  Now  I  guess  I  will  go  out  and  do  a  little 
shopping,  dearie." 

Should  there  be  offered  to  each  refugee  in  place  of 
food,  clothing  and  household  articles,  half  of  their  value 
in  money  there  would  be  a  prompt  acceptance  on  the 
part  of  ninety  per  cent.,  but  the  practical  results  of  such 
assistance  would  prove  far  from  satisfactory.  Two  sis- 
ters in  Ohio  who  had  lived  in  a  small  rented  apartment 
complained  bitterly  that  only  thirty  dollars  had  been 
allotted  to  them  for  furniture.  On  inquiry  being  made 
as  to  what  was  purchased  with  this  amount,  they 
acknowledged  that  for  weeks  before  the  flood  they  had 
cast  longing  eyes  on  six  dining  room  chairs  that  were 
valued  at  forty-eight  dollars.  These  had  been  slightly 
damaged  by  water,  and  were  marked  down  to  thirty  dol- 
lars. The  grant  just  filled  the  bargain.  How  could  they 
resist ! 

The  policy  of  the  Red  Cross  regarding  money  grants 
is  to  secure  beforehand,  as  far  as  possible,  a  definite 
understanding  with  the  recipient  as  to  the  use  to  which 
such  funds  are  to  be  applied.  Several  years  ago  in  Colo- 
rado after  a  serious  mine  accident  an  appropriation  was 
made  by  the  State  legislature  for  the  benefit  of  the 
widows.  Each  of  these  women  who  received  several  hun- 
dred dollars,  had  probably  never  before  had  more  than 
ten  dollars  at  a  time  in  her  possession.  Here  was  to  them 
untold  wealth,  and  immediately  they  became  the  prey  of 
unscrupulous  individuals,  into  whose  pockets  much  of 
the  State  appropriation  soon  found  its  way.  One  vam- 
pire robbed  these  luckless  creatures  by  securing  an  order 
from  nearly  every  widow  for  a  portrait  of  her  unfortu- 
nate husband.  In  this  case  had  the  Red  Cross  been  in 
charge  the  women  would  have  been  safeguarded,  the 
system  used  after  the  Cherry  mine  disaster  would  have 
been  carried  out,  pensions  provided,  and  the  State  funds 
would  not  have  become  the  property  of  men  worthy  the 
name  of  criminals.  Efforts  have  been  made  by  so-called 


164         UNDER  THE  RED  CROSS  FLAG 

benefit  societies  or  associations  of  refugees  to  secure  by 
means  of  law  the  moneys  contributed  to  the  Bed  Cross 
for  relief  work,  but  fortunately  without  success. 

Mr.  Cannon,  when  Speaker  of  the  House  of  Represen- 
tatives, once  expressed  to  an  officer  of  the  Red  Cross  his 
conviction  that  all  Government  appropriations  for  relief 
purposes  should  be  placed  in  the  hands  of  the  Red  Cross 
for  administration.  This  would  tend  toward  the  concen- 
tration of  all  funds  under  expert  management,  prevent 
duplicating  efforts,  insure  better  economic  results,  lessen 
the  expense  of  administration,  and  also  the  political  pres- 
sure. In  both  Ohio  and  Illinois  such  an  arrangement  was 
fully  justified  by  results.  In  the  former  case  out  of  the 
State  appropriation  of  two  hundred  and  fifty  thousand 
dollars  for  flood  relief,  only  one  hundred  thousand  was 
expended;  and  in  Illinois  the  one  hundred  thousand 
dollars  appropriated  for  the  Cherry  miners'  families 
became  part  of  the  combined  pension  fund. 

Life  in  a  refugee  camp  for  many  of  its  occupants  is 
rather  a  pleasant  experience  in  summer  weather,  for 
vacation  funds  in  many  cities  send  mothers  and  children 
for  a  restful  week  into  camp  life  in  the  country.  Mili- 
tary discipline  and  strict  sanitary  regulations  must  be 
maintained,  but  these  are  not  a  hardship,  and  many  of 
the  tired  mothers  of  large  families  revel  in  the  recess 
from  the  kitchen  stove  and  the  washing  tub.  Three  times 
a  day  all  that  they  have  to  do  is  to  marshal  their  tent- 
holds  into  line,  arm  them  with  tin  table  utensils,  and 
march  them  down  to  the  big  dinner  tent,  passing  the 
open-air  kitchen,  where  well-cooked  meals  are  ladled 
into  the  outstretched  dishes  to  be  carried  to  the  com- 
munity tables.  No  food  is  permitted  in  the  other  tents, 
and  loud  voiced  protests  are  occasionaly  heard  when 
Red  Cross  nurses  and  Camp  orderlies  confiscate  green 
apples,  stale  cake  or  the  more  objectionable  bottles,  fished 
out  from  under  a  hospitable  tent  floor.  If  the  camp  is  a 
large  one,  at  its  entrance  will  be  found  the  post-office 


REFUGEE  CAMPS  165 

and  the  information  registry,  for  the  camp  population  is 
a  fluctuating  one.  Families  try  other  quarters  for  a 
while,  and  then  drift  back  to  its  friendly  shelter.  Men 
who  have  secured  work  and  are  without  families  are  not 
permitted  its  assistance. 

On  a  knoll  at  one  side  a  little  group  of  tents,  over 
which  floats  a  Red  Cross  flag,  form  the  doctors'  and 
nurses'  station.  A  watchful  eye  is  kept  over  the  large 
family  in  their  care.  Here  is  the  milk  tent,  with  bottles 
scalding  in  hot  water,  where  the  babies'  food  is  prepared 
with  a  care  never  before  known  to  mother  and  child. 
Round  cheeked  and  rosy  grow  the  puny  youngsters, 
who  have  before  lived  upon  prepared  infant  food,  or 
even  tea  and  coffee.  There  is  the  bathing  tent,  with  its 
oil  stove  and  array  of  soap  and  clean  towels  around  the 
little  tubs.  Great  excitement  was  created  one  day  when 
an  immigrant  father  permitted  his  two-year-old  boy  to 
receive  his  first  bath,  and  his  irate  mother,  discovering 
the  performance  after  it  had  begun,  shrieked  aloud  over 
the  inhuman  treatment  of  her  offspring. 

A  healthful  life  is  this  at  a  refugee  camp,  but  one  not 
to  be  too  long  tolerated,  for  idleness  is  a  habit  easily 
acquired  and  difficult  to  overcome.  Frequent  were  the 
disapprovals  of  the  California  housewives  over  the  atti- 
tude of  Maggie,  who  preferred  the  social  life  of  a  refu- 
gee camp  at  San  Francisco  to  the  joys  of  domestic  ser- 
vice in  the  country  round  about. 

The  final  stage  in  relief  work  and  one  of  the  most 
important,  though  it  interests  the  general  public  the 
least,  is  that  of  rehabilitation.  This  is  the  end  the  Bed 
Cross  always  has  in  view.  Each  one  of  its  institutional 
members  throughout  the  country  is  provided  with  a  box 
like  a  dress  suit  case.  This  box  contains  a  Red  Cross 
flag  to  mark  a  relief  station,  voucher  forms,  telegraph 
blanks,  pencil,  paper,  and  a  thousand  or  more  registra- 
tion cards.  These  cards  have  been  prepared  to  meet  all 
sorts  and  kinds  of  disasters.  The  minute  the  call  comes 


166          UNDER  THE  RED  CROSS  FLAG 

for  aid  the  institutional  member,  his  relief  case  in  hand, 
is  ready  to  start  the  work  of  rehabilitation  by  an  immedi- 
ate registration  of  the  families.  Each  man's  name  with 
those  of  his  family  are  set  down.  Who,  if  any,  have  been 
disabled.  Next  follow  his  debit  and  credit  disaster  ac- 
count. What  has  he  lost — his  house,  furniture  and  cloth- 
ing, business  building,  stock  and  equipment,  farming 
implements,  barns  and  live  stock — and  what  is  their  esti- 
mated value?  Has  he  lost  his  employment? 

On  the  credit  side  of  the  ledger :  What  are  his  material 
resources,  insurance,  real  estate,  savings  and  undestroyed 
property,  against  which  there  may  be  mortgages  or  other 
debts  to  be  noted.  Then  comes  his  occupational  resources 
— has  he  a  permanent  occupation  ?  What  are  his  wages  ? 
Who  are  his  present  employers,  and  what  was  his  for- 
mer employment  ?  Among  his  social  resources  there  are 
labor  unions,  clubs,  or  benefit  societies  to  which  he  may 
belong  and  from  which  he  may  obtain  assistance;  or 
relatives  who  may  lend  a  helping  hand.  Finally  comes 
the  family 's  plans  for  the  future  and  the  suggestions  the 
Red  Cross  agent  has  to  make,  with  a  few  lines  as  to  what 
action  is  eventually  taken  for  permanent  rehabilitation. 
This  is  the  real  proof  of  successful  relief  operations,  for 
although  temporary  aid  may  be  all  that  is  necessary  in 
some  cases,  the  great  majority  of  the  victims  of  a  catastro- 
phe need  the  assistance  of  experienced  persons  to  open  up 
a  new  future  before  them  and  to  place  them  again  on  the 
self-supporting  basis  they  occupied  before  misfortune 
overtook  them.  A  time  comes  when  the  Red  Cross  and 
disaster  relief  committees,  for  the  good  of  the  entire  com- 
munity, must  relinquish  such  duties  so  that  the  normal 
local  agencies  shall  reassume  their  responsibilities.  •  In 
a  letter  of  instructions  issued  by  the  National  director 
of  the  Red  Cross  to  the  Ohio  Flood  Committee  is  most 
ably  summed  up  the  Red  Cross  methods.  It  has  been 
called  a  classic  in  relief  literature: 

"And  now  comes  the  true  test  of  our  efficiency.  Our 


RED  CROSS  METHODS  167 

work  is  only  fairly  begun.  It  must  go  forward  without 
the  inspiration  of  early  days.  Family  by  family  we 
must  calmly  and  sympathetically  consider  the  right  thing 
to  be  done  for  each.  We  are  dealing  with  individual 
problems,  complex,  various,  infinite.  We  cannot  restore 
losses.  Our  relief  fund  is  not  an  insurance  fund.  The 
amount  of  a  family's  losses  is  not  an  index  to  the  relief 
which  may  be  afforded  it.  The  only  guide  for  us  is  the 
extent  of  each  family's  need  and  its  inability  to  re- 
establish itself.  We  must  do  what  is  necessary  to  help 
the  hardest  hit  family  to  its  feet  and  start  it  forward  in 
self-support.  Only  that.  Our  funds  will  not  permit 
more.  Thus  our  work  becomes  a  matter  of  learning  the 
essential  facts.  Sympathy  and  actual  knowledge  must 
go  hand  in  hand.  In  no  other  way  can  we  discover  and 
perform  the  particular  service  for  each  family  which 
is  necessary  to  give  it  the  right  start.  And  remember 
that  common  sense — our  own  accumulated  experience 
with  our  fellows  in  our  own  lives — is  the  key  which 
unlocks  many  perplexities. 

"Emergency  relief  should  by  this  time  be  closed  or 
reduced  to  its  fag  ends.  Closing  relief  stations  and  stop- 
ping the  general  issue  of  supplies  does  not  imply  that  no 
more  food  or  clothing  will  be  available.  Individual 
families  can  still  be  supplied.  Closing  relief  stations 
however,  has  two  very  important  results : 

' '  It  removes  the  public,  visible  sign  of  relief  distribu- 
tion, which  is  always  abnormal  and  demoralizing  and  is  a 
standing  temptation  and  inducement  to  dependence. 

"It  clears  the  slate  and  allows  you  to  make  a  new 
start  on  a  new  basis.  The  routine  is  broken.  Each  fam- 
ily which  makes  application  for  help  after  the  relief  sta- 
tion is  closed  may  be  taken  up  anew  and  must  justify 
its  application  by  a  showing  of  facts.  Many  will  not 
reapply. 

"In  every  step  and  process  relief  operation  must  be 
positive  and  progressive.  'Marking  time'  is  losing  time. 


168    UNDER  THE  RED  CROSS  FLAG 

A  passive  policy  means  failure.  Keep  things  moving. 
If  we  wait  for  those  who  are  receiving  aid,  voluntarily  to 
announce  that  they  have  enough,  we'll  never  get  done. 
A  good  many  will  stop  coming,  but  many  will  hang  on. 
They  have  suffered  and  are  discouraged  and  the  relief 
fund  cannot  restore  their  losses.  So  they  will  remain 
hoping  and  growing  more  helpless  every  day.  They 
must  be  carried  forward  to  independence  in  spite  of 
themselves. 

"All  were  self-supporting  before  the  disaster.  Act 
on  the  presumption  that  all  will  be  self-supporting  again 
and  at  once.  If  in  occasional  instances  this  cannot  be, 
give  such  instances  kindly  consideration  and  help  with 
a  view  to  hastening  independence  and  stimulating  new 
courage. 

"A  final  residuum  of  the  helpless  will  remain;  those 
who,  from  age  or  ill  health  or  loss  of  the  family  wage- 
earner,  may  not  be  able  to  regain  their  feet  or  at  best 
can  do  so  only  after  months  or  years  of  effort.  These 
must  be  given  such  kindly  temporary  help  as  is  possible, 
but  their  problems  must  be  left,  for  final  solution,  to 
the  regular  and  ordinary  helpful  agencies  of  the  com- 
munity. It  is  hoped  and  believed  that  this  residuum  will 
be  small.  The  steady  progress  of  relief  operations  toward 
completion,  involving,  as  it  does,  the  future  welfare  of  a 
large  number  of  sturdy,  useful  citizens  must  not  be 
retarded  by  the  effort  to  restore  that  smaller,  pathetic 
number  of  those  who  cannot  respond  to  the  stimulating 
movement  toward  a  new  life. 

"The  relief  movement  should  be  a  resistless  current 
carrying  all  before  it,  so  far  as  is  humanly  possible,  back 
to  normal  existence.  The  atmosphere  should  be  electric 
with  new  energy,  new  hope  and  a  sense  of  better  days  at 
hand.  The  distribution  of  food  and  the  provision  of  shel- 
ter and  clothes  -are  necessary,  but  the  inculcation  of  cour- 
age and  hope  and  determination  is  the  secret  of  perma- 
nent success."  : « 


CHAPTER  XI 

THE  CHRISTMAS  SEAL.  ITS  ANCESTORS,  THE  SANITARY 
FAIR  STAMPS.  ITS  FOREIGN  RELATIONS,  THE  EURO- 
PEAN CHARITY  STAMPS.  HOW  THE  SEALS  ARE  SOLD. 
A  DAVID  AGAINST  GOLIATH.  THE  DOUBLE  CROSS. 

WHEN  the  American  delegates  to  the  Eighth  Interna- 
tional Red  Gross  Conference  returned  from  London,  in 
1907,  they  were  somewhat  puzzled  as  to  how  the  Ameri- 
can Red  Cross  should  carry  out  the  agreement  made  by 
the  societies  to  take  some  part  in  the  campaign  against 
tuberculosis. 

In  those  countries,  where  large  numbers  of  young 
men  are  required  yearly  to  do  military  service,  many 
are  rejected  because  of  tuberculosis,  or  are  discharged 
because  it  develops  shortly  after  they  have  entered  the 
army.  The  aid  given  to  such  men,  and  the  safeguard- 
ing of  their  families  from  infection  becomes  a  patriotic 
duty  that  is  undertaken  by  several  of  the  foreign  socie- 
ties. But  with  us,  our  army  is  so  small  that  the  relatively 
few  who  develop  the  disease  are  taken  care  of  by  the 
government  and  require  no  Red  Cross  assistance. 

The  problem  was  still  unsolved  at  the  time  of  the  an- 
nual meeting  that  year,  when,  quite  unaware  of  the  inter- 
national resolution,  Miss  Emily  Bissell,  secretary  of  the 
Delaware  Red  Cross,  appeared  before  the  Central  Com- 
mittee with  a  little  stamp  bearing  a  Red  Cross  and  the 
words  ' '  Merry  Christmas  and  Happy  New  Year, ' '  which 
that  chapter  desired  to  sell  for  the  benefit  of  anti-tuber- 
culosis work.  Whence  came  the  idea,  and  what  was  its 
origin  ?  The  little  stamp  was  considered  an  emigrant 
and  not  until  some  years  later  was  the  fact  discovered, 
by  means  of  a  Swedish  report,  that  the  famous  charity 
stamp  was  a  native  of  our  own  land  of  inventions.  We 
169 


170          UNDER  THE  RED  CROSS  FLAG 

have  already  seen  how  much  we  owe  to  the  Sanitary  Com- 
mission, but  that  the  charity  stamp  should  prove  another 
inheritance,  which,  after  wandering  far  afield,  returned 
to  us  again,  was  a  most  unexpected  discovery. 

In  1862  the  first  charity  stamps  were  sold  at  a  sanitary 
fair  in  Boston.  Who  was  the  author  of  their  being  is 
unknown,  but  that  their  mission  was  to  raise  funds  for 
the  aid  of  the  sick  and  wounded  in  war  made  an  appro- 
priate, if  strange,  coincidence  that  the  revival  in  America 
was  due  to  the  successor  of  the  Sanitary  Commission, 
their  originator. 

An  interesting  account  of  these  "Stamps  of  the 
United  States  Sanitary  Fairs"  is  given  by  Mr.  J.  "W. 
Scott,  in  the  American  Journal  of  Philately.  Mr.  Scott 
calls  "attention  to  a  neglected  series  of  United  States 
stamps  that  commemorate  national  events,  and  in  that 
respect  are  not  one  whit  behind  their  venerable  com- 
petitors, coins."  A  stamp  that  was  used  in  a  Brooklyn 
fair  had  for  its  design  the  American  eagle.  The  vener- 
able bird  grasps  three  arrows  in  his  right  claw,  and  in 
has  left  an  olive  branch.  The  stamp  bears  the  words, 
"Brooklyn  Sanitary  Fair  Postage,"  but  its  value  is  not 
given,  and  the  omission  may  have  been  intentional.  The 
printing  is  in  green,  on  white  paper.  "The  stamp  it- 
self," to  quote  Mr.  Scott,  "speaks  volumes  and  cannot 
fail  to  recall  the  time  when  our  country  was  torn  by 
internecine  strife.  Three  years  of  war  had  filled  our 
homes  with  mourning,  our  hospitals  with  maimed  and 
crippled  soldiers,  and  exhausted  the  resources  of  the  na- 
tional government  to  relieve  their  sufferings.  It  was 
then  that  the  ladies  of  the  North  organized  fairs  in  the 
different  cities  to  raise  money  to  supply  the  wounded 
with  comfort  and  delicacies;  to  send  the  convalescents 
to  their  homes,  and  to  care  for  the  widows  and  orphans 
of  the  same."  At  this  Brooklyn  fair  a  modern  post- 
office  was  established.  Here  a  letter  could  be  posted  to 
any  part  of  the  world  provided  it  bore  upon  it,  besides 


SANITARY  FAIR  STAMPS  171 

the  regular  government  stamps,  one  of  these  little  labels 
of  the  fair.  Letters  written  behind  the  scenes  were  to  be 
had  by  anyone  who  paid  for  the  fair  postage.  For  the 
New  York  Sanitary  Fair  a  stamp  beautiful  in  design  and 
printing  was  provided.  In  the  centre  was  an  eagle  with, 
upraised  wings  and  neck  outstretched.  He  stands  upon 
the  United  States  shield,  with  a  background  of  flags  and 
stars.  These  stamps  were  printed  in  different  colors, 
according  to  their  value ;  the  blue  were  ten  cents ;  green 
twenty  cents,  and  black  thirty  cents.  It  is  doubtful  if 
any  other  fair  ever  proved  such  a  financial  success  as  this 
great  New  York  Sanitary  Fair,  which  netted  $1,200,000 
for  the  commission's  relief  work.  Gavit,  a  well-known 
Albany  engraver,  designed  a  stamp  used  for  a  fair  in  that 
city.  This  is  the  only  one  of  these  stamps,  as  far  as 
known,  that  was  counterfeited. 

While  the  stamps  used  in  New  York  all  had  the  eagle 
as  a  design,  those  issued  in  New  England  had  for  their 
emblem  the  figures  of  soldiers  or  sailors.  One  of  these  is 
oval  in  shape,  printed  in  green  and  white,  and  repre- 
senting a  sailor  with  a  wooden  leg,  carrying  a  flag  in  his 
hand.  The  "Stamford"  stamp,  in  brown,  pictures  a 
sentry  at  his  post  of  duty ;  and  a  stamp  which  bears  the 
name  of  the  celebrated  engraver  Chubbuck,  used  at 
Springfield,  shows  a  polite  officer  raising  his  hat  to  two 
ladies  and  apparently  welcoming  them  to  the  fair. 

The  success  of  these  "sanitary  fair"  stamps  led  to 
their  adoption  by  other  charities.  One  stamp  carrying 
the  design  of  a  balloon,  is  marked  "balloon  postage." 

For  many  years  after  the  civil  war  the  idea  of  the 
charity  stamp  was  lost.  As  far  as  we  know,  it  was  again 
brought  to  light  by  the  issuing  of  such  stamps  in  Portu- 
gal for  the  benefit  of  the  Red  Cross  in  that  country. 
From  there  it  spread  rapidly  to  other  countries  of 
Europe,  where  it  has  been  sold  mainly  for  the  support  of 
anti-tuberculosis  institutions.  Some  of  the  Swedish 
charity  stamps  are  quite  elaborate  in  character.  On  one 


172         UNDER  THE  RED  CROSS  FLAG 

are  pictures  of  the  king  and  queen;  on  another  St. 
George  is  represented  slaying  the  dragon;  and  the  de- 
sign of  a  third  appears  to  be  JEsculapius  grasping  a 
young  girl  by  the  hand.  A  Danish  stamp  shows  a  child- 
dren  's  sanatorium  which  is  maintained  by  the  sale  of  the 
stamp.  Lately  the  British  Red  Cross  has  issued  a  series 
of  large  shilling  stamps  illustrating  scenes  of  its  assist- 
ance of  the  wounded,  which  are  sold  for  the  benefit  of  its 
relief  work. 

By  what  path  did  our  little  truant  stamp^  return  to  its 
native  land  ?  One  day  near  Christmas  time  in  1906,  Mr. 
Jacob  Riis  received  a  letter  from  his  old  home  in  Den- 
mark, which,  besides  the  regular  postage,  was  almost  cov- 
ered with  new  and,  to  him,  mysterious,  stamps.  Mr.  Riis 
was  not  the  man  to  let  this  mystery  go  unsolved,  and 
It  did  not  take  long  for  him  to  discover  that  these  stamps 
were  sold  to  help  the  Danish  people  battle  against  the 
great  white  plague.  When  he  was  a  boy  consumption,  as 
tuberculosis  was  then  called,  was  supposed  to  be  an  in- 
herited disease,  the  touch  of  whose  skeleton  hand  sealed 
the  fate  of  its  unfortunate  victim.  One  after  another, 
six  brothers  of  Mr.  Riis  had  died,  a  sacrifice  to  the  ignor- 
ance of  those  early  days.  He  evidently  owed  his  escape 
to  the  fact  that  while  still  a  boy  he  was  sent  to  America 
and  thus  taken  out  of  dangerously  infected  surroundings. 
What  a  deep  interest  he  felt  in  the  overcoming  of  tuber- 
culosis can  well  be  imagined.  In  the  Outlook  he  wrote  of 
the  little  stamp  "The  Christmas  stamp  is  not  good  for 
postage  every  other  way  it  is  good — for  the  man  who  buys 
it  and  puts  it  on  his  letter ;  for  the  clerk  who  cancels  it 
with  a  glad  thought  for  the  little  waifs  with  every  whack ; 
for  the  postman  that  delivers  the  letter  with  a  smile  as 
good  and  bright  as  Christmas  itself.  The  proof  that  they 
like  it  is  this :  that  they  refuse  to  a  man  to  take  anything 
for  their  work.  They  all  wanted  to  help.  The  thought 
itself  with  this  power  of  setting  everybody  to  thinking 
of  a  great  wrong  that  can  only  be  righted  through  every- 


EUROPEAN  CHARITY  STAMPS  173 

body's  thinking  of  it,  deserves  a  place.  What  else  is 
the  tuberculosis  scourge  than  such  a  wrong.  Nothing  in 
all  the  world  is  better  proven  to-day  than  that  it  is  a 
preventable  disease,  and  therefore  needless.  And  yet 
in  our  own  country  it  goes  on  year  after  year  killing  an 
army  of  one  hundred  and  fifty  thousand  persons,  and 
desolating  countless  homes  in  which  half  a  million  men 
and  women  are  always  wearily  dragging  themselves  to 
graves  dug  by  this  single  enemy.  What  I  want  to  know 
is  why  we  cannot  here  borrow  a  leaf  from  Santa  Glaus' 
Danish  year  book  and  do  as  they  have  done  ?  I  am  plead- 
ing for  the  half  million  poor  souls  all  over  the  land  whose 
faces  are  set  to-day  towards  an  inevitable  grave,  because 
of  ignorance,  needless  ignorance,  and  for  the  friends  who 
grieve  with  and  for  them." 

This  article  of  Mr.  Riis'  fell  into  Miss  Bissell's  hands, 
and  Delaware  needed  funds  for  its  anti-tuberculosis 
work.  From  the  Danish  stamp  on  Mr.  Riis'  letter,  the 
need  in  Delaware,  and  Miss  Bissell's  initiative  sprang 
our  Red  Cross  Christmas  Seal. 

For  the  first  few  years  it  was  called  a  "stamp."  In 
spite  of  Shakespeare's  query,  "What's  in  a  name?", 
there  is  a  great  deal  in  a  name 's  influence  on  the  popular 
mind.  The  word  "stamp"  unfortunately  led  many 
persons  to  suppose  the  little  messengers  of  good-will  were 
sufficient  for  postage  on  letters.  The  Post-office  Depart- 
ment had  given  the  small  stamps  a  courteous  welcome, 
but  it  positively  declined  to  allow  them  to  take  the  place 
of  its  own  revenue  producers.  As  a  consequence,  not  a 
few  additional  letters  and  parcels  decorated  with  the 
Red  Cross  emblem,  but  minus  Uncle  Sam 's  stamps,  found 
their  way  to  the  dead  letter  office ;  this  led  to  official  regu- 
lations that  all  Christmas  stamps  must  be  placed  on 
the  back  of  letters  and  packages.  Some  one's  happy  in- 
spiration changed  the  name  from  "stamp"  to  "seal,"  to 
insure  the  proper  location  of  the  offending  little  mes- 
senger. 


174         UNDER  THE  RED  CROSS  FLAG 

The  charter  of  the  American  Ked  Cross  places  the 
duty  upon  it  of  mitigating  the  sufferings  caused  by  pesti- 
lence and  the  devising  of  measures  to  prevent  the  same. 
No  more  dangerous  and  insidious  pestilence  exists  than 
that  which  is  called  the  great  white  plague.  It  invades 
the  palace  as  well  as  the  hovel.  It  deforms  the  child  as 
well  as  slays  the  man,  and  no  country  or  nation  is  free 
from  its  ravages.  A  century  past  our  ancestors  wrote  of 
it  as  the  ''wasting  sickness;"  half  a  century  ago  men 
called  it  consumption;  and  to-day  we  give  it  the  more 
scientific  name  of  tuberculosis.  But  call  it  what  we  will 
it  is  ever  the  same  dread  disease,  so  widely  scattered 
and  so  slow  in  the  consummation  of  its  results  that  it 
requires  not  only  the  skill  of  specialists  to  combat  it,  but 
the  earnest  co-operation  of  the  entire  nation,  rich  and 
poor,  young  and  old. 

It  is  in  the  unexpected  role  of  educator  that  the  Red 
Cross  seal  has  played  a  most  important  part.  Public  in- 
terest in  it  was  first  aroused  by  competitions  held  for  the 
selection  of  an  appropriate  design.  Competitors  by  hun- 
dreds sent  their  productions  to  the  Red  Cross.  These 
were  of  all  possible  kinds,  some  from  the  brush  of 
the  artist,  some  from  the  pen  of  the  skilled  draughtsman, 
some  from  the  untaught  hands  of  children,  and  some 
the  crude  products  of  paper,  paste  and  scissors.  After 
a  weeding-out  process  the  best  were  selected  and  exhib- 
ited at  the  Corcoran  Art  Gallery,  at  Washington.  Such 
artists  as  Frank  Miller  and  Paul  Bartlett  gave  their  ser- 
vices as  members  of  the  jury  on  awards.  It  was  interest- 
ing to  note  that  the  purity  of  the  conventional  design 
appealed  more  to  the  artist  than  to  the  popular  fancy. 
The  public  likes  better  the  seal  which  arouses  its  imagin- 
ation by  the  face  of  a  merry  Santa  Glaus,  or  the  laden 
boughs  of  a  Christmas  tree.  The  earlier  stamp  designs 
were  composed  of  the  Red  Cross  surrounded  by  holly  in 
conventional  form.  But  the  seals  of  the  last  few  years 


THE  CHRISTMAS  SEAL  175 

have  depended  upon  the  benevolent  face  or  form  of 
Santa  Glaus  to  enhance  their  popularity. 

To  increase  its  educational  value  children  in  the 
schools  have  been  encouraged  to  copy  its  design,  or  to 
write  essays  on  its  purpose.  This  education,  radiated  out 
from  school-room  into  the  homes,  so  that  inquiry  as  to  the 
disease  to  be  combated  followed  the  interest  aroused  by 
the  seal  and  added  to  its  usefulness  in  extending  knowl- 
edge. 

Its  astonishing  success  in  the  raising  of  funds  led 
to  imitation,  and  stamps  and  seals  of  many  varieties 
were  launched  upon  communities  only  to  meet  with  fail- 
ure, or  but  small  success.  To  design  a  seal  and  put  it 
on  the  market  is  one  thing;  to  sell  it  quite  another. 
Organization  machinery  and  advertising  are  as  neces- 
sary in  the  sale  of  the  seal  as  in  the  successful  sale  of 
any  article  of  commerce.  Fortunately,  throughout  the 
country  an  active  interest  in  anti-tuberculosis  work  was 
being  aroused.  Innumerable  state  and  local  committees 
already  existed;  and  the  National  Association  for  the 
Study  and  Prevention  of  Tuberculosis — an  excellent 
society  with  a  regrettably  long  name — was  stimulating 
this  interest  and  increasing  local  associations.  There 
was,  therefore,  an  organization  already  in  existence,  and 
by  means  of  this  organization  the  sales  have  been  car- 
ried on.  Probably  no  other  national  charity  has  ever 
received  such  an  amount  of  gratuitous  advertising. 
Clever  cartoonists  of  great  daily  papers  pictured  the 
gaunt  skeleton  of  tuberculosis  stalking,  with  death-deal- 
ing steps,  through  city  or  town,  while  toward  the  combat 
advanced  the  valiant  Bed  Cross  knight,  from  whose  at- 
tacking spear  floated  the  Christmas  seal;  or  jolly  old 
Santa  Claus  himself  appeared,  every  parcel  in  his  pack 
labeled  with  his  own  kindly  face,  while  he  utters  the 
admonition,  "Don't  forget  the  Christmas  Seal  on  every 
gift."  Poets  burst  into  song  and  verse  to  praise  its 
virtues.  Periodicals  gave  pages  to  explain  its  purpose 


176    UNDER  THE  RED  CROSS  FLAG 

and  increase  its  sale.  Billboards  displayed  large  repro- 
ductions in  Christmas  colors.  Motors  with,  banners  and 
pretty  girls  paraded  the  streets  to  advertise  its  goodly 
work.  Schools  have  been  awarded  prizes  for  the  largest 
sale.  In  Ohio  the  twelve  communities  which  sold  the 
greatest  number  per  capita  were  each  awarded  a  visiting 
nurse  for  a  month,  by  the  State  Committee.  Moving- 
picture  films  were  pressed  into  service,  a  romantic  story 
woven  around  the  seal,  and  an  unsuspected  lesson  taught. 
There  can  be  few  to-day  among  our  many  millions  of 
people  who  do  not  know  the  little  seal  and  understand 
its  object.  Great  banks  and  commercial  houses  send  it 
out  on  their  holiday  mail,  while  the  little  newsboy  hands 
out  his  penny  and  is  happy  because  he  has  a  chance 
given  him  to  help.  Everybody  helps.  Old  "Scrooge" 
himself,  had  he  been  here,  could  not  have  kept  out  of 
the  spirit  of  it  all,  for  was  not  "Tiny  Tim"  a  victim  of 
this  cruel  plague? 

Is  it  to  be  wondered,  then,  that  during  the  last  seven 
years  over  two  hundred  and  thirty  million  seals  have 
been  sold,  and  over  $2,300,000  thereby  raised  for  active 
work,  not  counting  the  indirect  aid  of  such  an  immense 
circulation  in  spreading  knowledge  of  the  campaign  and 
arousing  public  interest.  Ninety  per  cent  of  the  profits 
on  the  sale  of  the  seals  belongs  to  the  community  in 
which  they  are  sold.  The  remaining  ten  per  cent  goes 
to  the  Red  Cross  to  pay  for  the  printing  of  a  yearly 
issue  of  more  than  one  hundred  million  seals,  hundreds 
of  thousands  of  posters  and  other  advertising  matter. 
Any  profit  that  may  remain  of  this  ten  per  cent  after 
the  expenses  are  paid  is  divided  between  the  Red  Cross 
and  the  National  Association  for  the  Study  and  Pre- 
vention of  Tuberculosis. 

State  associations  by  means  of  the  seal  have  been 
called  into  existence  and  maintained ;  others  which  were 
moribund  have  been  revived  by  its  aid  and  taken  on  new 
life  and  activities.  Scores  of  day  camps,  on  the  roofs 


THE  CHRISTMAS  SEAL  177 

of  hospitals  in  large  cities,  or  on  remodeled  ferry-boats, 
or  formed  of  tents  in  pleasant  groves,  are  carried  on  by 
means  of  the  little  seal,  and  bring  back  health  and  hap- 
piness to  multitudes  of  men,  women  and  children.  San- 
itaria, dispensaries,  open-air  schools,  educational  exhib- 
its, visiting  nurses,  and  countless  other  means  for  com- 
bating the  white  plague,  owe  their  existence  to  the  penny 
seal  with  its  emblem  of  the  Bed  Cross.  A  tiny  David, 
with  but  a  simple  sling,  is  fighting  the  battle  against  this 
powerful  and  horrible  Goliath  of  destruction. 

That  sometimes  the  purpose  of  the  seal  is  not  fully 
understood  is  shown  by  a  letter  that  found  its  way  to 
tho  Red  Cross  office,  addressed  to  the  "Red  Cross  Seal": 

"While  looking  over  a  paper  i  found  an  advertise- 
ment of  the  red  Cross  Seel  staiting  that  it  was  Good  for 
Consumption  and  other  deseases  i  wish  that  you  would 
please  send  me  a  bottle  and  also  the  price  so  in  case  i 
Need  more  i  Will  No  What  to  send  send  me  the  meder- 
son  i  will  see  that  you  get  the  money  if  i  Know  what  it 
Cost  i  cud  send  the  money  at  once  please  dont  fail  to 
send  it  at  once  please  let  me  hear  from  you  at  once." 

Even  if  this  was  aid  the  Red  Cross  could  not  give, 
the  letter  carried  a  pathetic  appeal  to  an  organization 
that  stands  for  the  mitigating  of  such  suffering  as  it 
indicated  and  the  prevention  of  its  cause. 

The  German  Red  Cross,  which  has  accomplished  more 
for  the  anti-tuberculosis  campaign  than  any  of  the  other 
societies,  first  used  for  this  department  of  its  peace  activ- 
ities the  emblem  of  the  double  cross,  which  is  generally 
accepted  as  the  special  symbol  of  anti-tuberculosis  organ- 
izations. An  emblem  that  is  necessarily  associated  with 
disease,  even  if  it  means  an  effort  to  suppress  the  evil, 
is  not  as  attractive  a  symbol  for  the  Christmas  messenger 
as  one  which  throughout  the  world  is  recognized  as  the 
insignia  of  helpful  humanity  and  good  will  towards  man. 
For  this  reason  it  is  the  Red  Cross,  and  not  the  double 
cross,  that  is  used  upon  our  seal. 
12 


178         UNDER  THE  RED  CROSS  FLAG 

The  American  Red  Cross  owes  a  patriotic  duty  to  the 
country  to  help  to  fight  and  overcome  any  pestilence 
that  endangers  the  health  and  happiness  of  the  people. 
The  pure  democracy  of  the  Red  Cross  enables  the  waters 
of  great  tributaries  to  flow  in  unison  with  those  of  the 
smallest  spring  through  the  broad  channel  of  the  little 
Christmas  seal.  None  are  too  rich  to  give;  none  too 
poor.  For  in  this  all-embracing  service  every  hand  may 
be  outstretched  to  do  its  share. 


CHAPTER  XII 

THE  SICK  IN  SMALL  COMMUNITIES.  THE  KOENIGSBERG 
SYSTEM.  BEGINNINGS  OF  A  GREAT  NATIONAL  WORK. 
HUMOR  AND  PATHOS  IN  THE  TOWN  AND  COUNTRY 
NURSING  LIFE.  A  SUGGESTION. 

AN  English  bishop  once  said,  "You  cannot  teach 
>nen  about  heaven  until  you  make  earth  more  like 
heaven."  This  effort  to  make  earth  more  like  heaven  is 
a  marked  feature  of  man's  present-day  labors  for  his 
fellow-men.  No  longer  are  the  efforts  to  mitigate  the 
sufferings  of  the  sick  confined  within  hospital  walls,  or 
to  the  ministrations  of  the  private  nurse.  Visiting  nurse 
organizations  by  the  hundreds  have  been  established  in 
our  cities,  and  in  some  of  the  towns  and  villages.  Even 
more  than  the  people  of  the  cities,  those  of  our  small 
communities  need  the  service  of  the  visiting  nurse.  With- 
out hospitals  or  dispensaries  near  at  hand,  forced  to  rely 
for  trained  aid  upon  the  infrequent  calls  of  a  busy  or 
remote  country  doctor,  there  is  untold  suffering,  and 
doubtless  many  deaths,  that  the  ministrations  of  the 
trained  nurse  would  prevent.  The  ignorance  of  unin- 
structed  mothers  often  means  years  of  suffering  for  the 
children,  and  possibly  the  continuation  of  ill-health 
through  future  generations. 

In  Germany  there  has  been  some  interesting  co-opera- 
tive work  carried  on  by  the  working  man 's  insurance  and 
the  Red  Cross.  Country  conditions  are  very  different 
from  those  of  the  cities.  The  countryman  is  naturally 
narrower  in  his  views  than  his  city  brother.  He  distrusts 
innovations,  fears  new  expenses,  or  that  he  may  be  de- 
ceived. Who  was  there  to  convince  the  laborer  in  the 
poor  rural  village  of  the  advantages  of  the  insurance  law  ? 
He  paid  his  taxes  to  insure  against  illness,  or  accident; 
but  when  he  became  ill  what  was  he  to  do,  and  where 
was  he  to  find  the  insurance  doctor?  He  distrusts  the 
179 


180         UNDER  THE  RED  CROSS  FLAG 

doctors  and  the  hospitals  in  the  distant  town,  and  pre- 
fers to  die  in  the  only  spot  he  knows.  So  many  were 
the  difficulties  that  were  associated  with  sick  insurance 
for  these  rural  communities  that  the  government  legis- 
lators left  to  the  discretion  of  local  authorities  the  appli- 
cation of  the  law. 

The  officials  of  the  district  of  Koenigsberg,  in  East 
Prussia,  determined  that  its  people  should  profit  by  this 
sick  insurance  law.  But  to  make  its  operation  a  success 
the  assistance  of  the  women's  branch  of  the  Red  Cross 
was  sought.  This  branch,  of  which  the  German  Em- 
press is  the  head,  has  its  members  in  all  the  cities,  in 
every  village,  in  the  great  and  small  chateaux  of  the 
country,  in  the  homes  of  the  manufacturer  and  those 
of  the  workman,  of  great  proprietors  and  small  labor- 
ers. These  would  know  how  to  accomplish  what  officials 
and  regulations  failed  to  do, — "to  carry  the  benefits  of 
these  social  laws  to  the  most  remote  cabin  and  to  the 
humblest  of  the  poor."  Supported  on  the  one  side  by 
public-spirited  officials,  energetic  and  faithful  men,  and 
on  the  other  by  the  sincere  self-abnegation  of  the  women 
of  the  Red  Cross,  the  plan  developed,  and  like  a  spider 
web  covered  the  country,  establishing  throughout  all  the 
district  its  organization  of  aid  for  the  sick  and  injured. 

The  district  of  Koenigsberg  includes  twenty-three 
parishes.  Each  parish  has  a  Red  Cross  delegate,  and 
by  her  side  a  Red  Cross  "sister,"  as  a  trained  nurse  is 
called  in  Germany,  both  living  in  their  circuit.  From 
the  parishes  were  formed  the  eleven  divisions  of  the 
insurance  doctors,  who  treat  gratuitously  those  insured 
and  their  families.  The  houses  of  the  doctors,  four  little 
hospitals,  fifteen  Red  Cross  sister  stations,  a  small  home 
for  incurables,  and  a  first-aid  post  are  scattered  over  the 
district  in  such  a  manner  that  it  is  possible  in  a  short 
time  to  bring  aid  to  any  unfortunate  sufferer,  or  to  take 
ihim  to  the  nearest  hospital.  The  geographic  situation 
of  the  large  city  of  Koenigsberg,  and  the  numerous  rail- 


THE  KOENIGSBERG  SYSTEM  181 

roads  and  the  many  good  roads  extending  from,  the 
capital  out  into  the  country,  help  to  make  this  plan  a 
success.  The  insurance  administration  realizes  the  re- 
duction of  the  cost  of  recovery  by  having  near  at  hand 
the  doctor,  the  ambulance  and  the  nurse,  and  the  de- 
mands for  invalid  pensions  decrease  as  the  nurses  dis- 
cover the  seeds  of  disease  in  the  laborer's  home.  Both 
insurer  and  insured  profit  economically  by  the  work  of 
the  Eed  Cross.  All  the  Bed  Cross  nurses  receive  two 
years'  training  at  the  mother-house  in  connection  with 
the  large  hospital  of  charity  at  Koenigsberg.  There  are 
six  hundred  nurses  and  two  hundred  and  twenty  novices 
in  the  mother-house  and  outside  stations.  These  stations 
of  the  nurses  are  situated  in  the  larger  villages  of  the 
district,  in  little  houses  rented  or  loaned  by  charity. 
Each  station  consists  of  a  store-room  for  first-aid  sup- 
plies and  the  home  of  the  nurse.  Almost  every  station 
has  its  little  carriage  and  horse  for  her  tour  of  visits. 
Those  who  are  able  to  do  so,  call  at  the  station,  while 
the  more  seriously  ill  the  sister  visits  in  their  homes. 
She  reports  to  the  insurance  doctor  all  cases  of  illness 
she  discovers,  teaches  the  household  simple  hygiene, 
brings  about  cleanliness  and  order  in  the  home,  cares 
for  the  baby  and  mothers  the  family.  The  nurse  finds 
a  supporter  and  a  guardian  in  the  lady  delegate  of  the 
Red  Cross,  generally  the  wife  of  the  pastor  or  some 
official.  This  delegate  transmits  to  the  sister  the  admin- 
istrative orders  of  the  Red  Cross  or  the  mother-house, 
and  provides  for  her  what  is  necessary  for  the  station 
and  the  poor — in  brief,  the  delegate  is  the  representative 
manager  of  the  Red  Cross  in  the  parish. 

In  the  four  remote  corners  of  the  district  the  Red 
Cross  established  four  small  hospitals.  It  bought  little 
farms,  or  separate  houses,  and  remodeled  them  so  as  to 
provide  space  for  twelve  beds  and  lodging  for  the  sis- 
ters, a  store-room  for  supplies,  a  dispensary,  operating 
room,  kitchen  and  bathroom.  Besides,  each  hospital  has 


182    UNDER  THE  RED  CROSS  FLAG 

a  garden  for  vegetables  and  a  stable  for  domestic  ani- 
mals for  the  purpose  of  economy.  The  nurse  at  the 
station,  with  an  assistant  nurse  and  a  maid,  takes  charge 
of  the  running  of  each  little  hospital. 

The  Red  Cross  Association  pays  only  the  interest 
on  the  capital  used  for  the  purchase  of  these  small  hos- 
pitals or  stations  and  for  the  expenses  of  the  sisters  at 
the  mother-house  The  insurance  bureau  pays  for  each 
insured  member  who  is  ill  twenty-five  cents  a  day,  and 
this  is  enough  to  provide  funds  to  maintain  the  rest  of 
the  work. 

Whether  or  not  the  American  Red  Cross  can  ever 
effect  such  a  system  in  this  country  is  doubtful,  because 
of  the  lack  of  sick  insurance  laws  that  have  enabled  the 
German  Red  Cross  to  accomplish  this.  But  there  can 
be  no  doubt  of  the  great  benefit  of  such  a  system  to  the 
rural  community  in  which  it  is  situated. 

Some  three  years  ago,  through  Miss  Lillian  Wald, 
of  the  New  York  Henry  Street  Settlement,  Mr.  Jacob  H. 
Schiff  became  deeply  interested  in  the  subject  of  rural 
nursing.  He  had  seen  the  value  of  the  daily  ministra- 
tions of  the  city  visiting  nurse  and  realized  the  even 
greater  need  for  this  service  in  the  country  and  small 
towns.  In  his  desire  to  assist  in  bringing  to  these  com- 
munities such  aid,  Mr.  Schiff  turned  to  the  Red  Cross, 
of  whose  Board  of  Incorporators  he  is  a  member.  He 
realized  that  outside  of  the  nurses'  own  associations  there 
exists  no  other  organization  that  comes  in  closer  touch 
with  the  trained  nurses  of  the  country.  Furthermore, 
he  believed  that  such  a  work  could  best  be  carried  on 
under  the  supervision  of  a  strong  national  organization. 
He  offered  to  the  Red  Cross  a  special  endowment  of 
$100,000,  the  income  of  which  was  to  be  devoted  to  the 
administration  of  a  town  and  country  nursing  service, 
if  it  would  undertake  the  work.  The  generous  offer 
was  accepted,  and  a  new  piece  of  activity  of  the  Amer- 
ican Red  Cross  inaugurated. 


RURAL  NURSING  183 

Our  small  towns  and  rural  communities  are  awaken- 
ing to  the  benefit  of  the  visiting  nurse  work.  Health  is 
an  economic  asset  to  any  community.  The  economic 
and  general  welfare  of  the  individual,  the  community 
and  the  nation  depend  largely  upon  the  prevention  of 
disease.  A  close  relationship  exists  between  poverty 
and  ill-health.  Many  industrial  concerns  have  recog- 
nized the  inefficiency  caused  by  sickness  and  provide 
visiting  nurses  for  their  employees.  Insurance  com- 
panies who  utilize  these  nurses  have  done  so  because 
such  service  prolongs  the  lives  of  their  policyholders. 
The  system  adopted  for  the  Town  and  Country  Nursing 
Department  of  the  Red  Cross  provides  for  a  corps  of 
graduate  trained  nurses  who  have  received  a  special 
post-graduate  course  of  four  months  to  fit  them  for  this 
service.  These  courses,  which  are  given  at  a  number  of 
institutions,  embrace  lectures  on  social  problems  and 
work,  on  municipal  sanitation,  the  application  of  pre- 
ventive medicine  in  nursing,  food  economics  and  the 
principles  of  public  health  nursing.  In  connection  with 
the  theoretical  training  the  nurse  receives  her  practical 
experience  with  some  visiting  nurse  association.  At  the 
head  of  this  Town  and  Country  Nursing  department  is 
a  superintendent,  and  with  her  are  associated  one  or 
more  supervisors.  These  are  all  nurses  who  have  taken 
special  courses  for  their  particular  duties. 

One  of  the  corps  of  nurses  is  assigned  to  a  community 
in  which  a  local  committee  or  organization  undertakes 
the  responsibility  for  her  service  and  work  and  which 
affiliates  with  the  Town  and  Country  Nursing  Service, 
accepting  its  regulations.  The  Ked  Cross  assumes  no 
local  financial  responsibilities,  but  it  meets  the  expenses 
of  general  supervision,  including  the  visits  of  the  super- 
vising nurse,  provides  the  nurse's  insignia  pendant  and 
the  various  record  cards  she  uses. 

There  are  a  number  of  advantages  to  local  committees 
in  such  an  affiliation.  Specially  trained  nurses  are 


184          UNDER  THE  RED  CROSS  FLAG 

obtained,  with  a  responsible  organization  back  of  them 
which  is  constantly  studying  the  needs  and  requirements 
of  such  communities.  The  experience  of  associations 
thus  mutually  affiliated  benefits  all  in  the  solution  of 
similar  problems.  The  nurse  isolated  from  others  of  her 
profession  receives  by  means  of  this  affiliation  helpful 
suggestions  and  feels  an  inspiration  to  live  up  to  the  high 
standards  of  the  national  organization.  She  wears  a 
simple  blue  uniform  of  wash  materials,  and  around  her 
neck,  suspended  by  a  silver  chain,  the  insignia  of  the 
Red  Cross  on  a  white  ground,  surrounded  by  a  blue 
border  on  which  appear  the  words,  "Town  and  Country 
Nursing  Service."  Her  uniform  and  the  insignia  she 
wears  prove  not  only  a  protection  to  the  nurse,  but  are 
often  the  means  of  identification  because  of  which  many 
acts  of  kindness  are  extended  to  her.  Her  duties  are 
those  of  the  city  visiting  nurse,  but  they  cover  a  more 
varied  field.  She  becomes  the  good  angel  of  the  com- 
munity, guarding  its  health,  instructing  its  women  and 
children  in  the  simple  laws  of  hygiene,  as  well  as  caring 
for  its  sick  and  injured.  Patients  that  can  afford  to 
pay  for  the  nurse's  visits  do  so  to  the  committee;  but 
the  sick  poor  are  given  her  services  without  charge. 

Over  forty  of  these  Red  Cross  town  and  country 
nurses  are  now  stationed  in  various  small  communities 
throughout  the  country.  Village  improvement  associa- 
tions, Red  Cross  chapters,  health  leagues,  corporations, 
industrial  concerns,  as  well  as  local  nursing  associations, 
are  employing  these  nurses.  Town  governments,  local 
and  county  health  and  educational  authorities  are  ap- 
propriating funds  towards  their  salaries  in  increasing 
numbers. 

One  of  the  Town  and  Country  nurses  employed  by  a 
large  mining  company  in  Pennsylvania,  lives  in  a  model 
town  where  the  majority  of  the  people  are  Slavs  and 
Hungarians.  Her  work  in  their  homes  has  so  won  their 
faith  and  confidence  that  she  says,  "My  duties  are 


RURAL  NURSING  185 

varied.  I  am  just  as  liable  to  be  called  for  an  unfortu- 
nate goose  or  chicken  as  for  the  baby.  I  have  already 
successfully  mended  the  wings  of  three  geese.  An  early 
morning  call  came  a  short  time  ago  to  visit  a  home  where 
a  baby  had  just  arrived.  I  found  the  baby  swaddled 
and  bound  with  a  wide  red,  white  and  blue  ribbon. 
Upon  asking  for  an  explanation  I  was  told  the  other  chil- 
dren were  born  in  the  old  country  and  were  Slavs,  but 
that  this  one  being  born  here  was  an  American.  Hence 
the  display  of  colors." 

"Better  Baby  Contests"  are  gotten  up  by  this  nurse; 
lectures  in  Slavic  or  Hungarian  by  physicians  arranged 
for;  camp-fire  girls  are  taught  something  of  the  care  of 
the  sick,  of  symptoms  and  the  isolation  of  contagious 
diseases,  and  one  evening  in  the  week  is  devoted  by  the 
nurse  to  first-aid  instructions  to  the  Co-operative  Boys. 
This  nurse's  life  is  a  happy  one,  as  her  work  is  carried 
on  in  an  ideal  welfare  town,  with  grateful  and  appre- 
ciative patients  on  every  side.  The  services  of  such  a 
nurse  are  an  economic  asset  to  the  company.  An  official 
of  one  of  the  largest  corporations  in  the  country  said 
that  the  visiting  nurse  service  extended  to  its  employees 
means  a  saving  of  twenty-five  dollars  a  day  to  the  cor- 
poration. 

Among  the  town  and  country  nurses  are  to  be  found 
several  county  school  nurses,  sometimes  partly  sup- 
ported by  the  county  school  board  and  the  commissioners' 
court,  as  is  one  in  Alabama.  Her  county  comprises  seven 
hundred  and  twenty  square  miles,  with  ninety-one  school 
districts.  Notifying  the  teacher  or  trustee  of  a  certain 
district  a  few  days  in  advance  of  her  visit  she  asks  them 
to  announce  a  lecture  in  the  school  building  the  evening 
of  the  day.  In  the  morning  she  examines  the  pupils, 
inspects  the  premises  and  gives  a  talk  to  the  children. 
Before  the  school  is  dismissed  she  hands  each  child  who 
shows  any  physical  defect  a  note  to  the  parents  and  tells 
the  children  to  urge  their  parents  to  attend  the  lecture 


186    UNDER  THE  RED  CROSS  FLAG 

as  she  will  explain  the  meaning  of  adenoids  and  kindred 
subjects.  This  secures  a  good  audience  of  interested 
persons.  After  a  short  talk  on  the  conditions  of  the 
children  she  gives  a  simple  lecture  on  hygiene  and  pre- 
ventable diseases.  The  next  day  there  follows  another 
talk  to  mothers  on  the  care  and  feeding  of  the  babies. 
Wherever  possible  she  organizes  a  branch  of  the  County 
Improvement  Association,  which  includes  work  along 
the  lines  of  sanitation,  beautification  and  school  improve- 
ment. Part  of  the  nurse's  time  is  given  to  visiting  the 
sick  of  each  school  district  and  instructing  the  families 
in  their  care. 

To  steal  a  few  leaves  from  the  diaries  of  one  or  two 
of  these  Town  and  Country  nurses  may  better  paint  their 
many  daily  duties  than  the  duller  pages  of  reports.  A 
nurse  from  the  mountain  district  writes: 

"Yesterday  I  went  to  town  to  take  a  patient.  The 
patient  was  a  man  with  appendicitis,  very  poor,  with 
five  little  children  who  had  lost  their  mother.  We  got 
along  nicely ;  put  him  on  a  cot  in  the  baggage  car.  Al- 
though the  journey  was  two  hundred  miles  he  was  not 
so  very  tired  when  he  got  there,  but  think  of  having  to 
take  people  in  that  condition  so  far.  This  is  the  county 
seat,  and  should  have  a  little  hospital  of  its  own.  County 
and  town  could  each  give  something  for  its  support, 
and  the  mines  pay  so  much  a  day  for  each  employe  cared 
for.  At  such  a  hospital  the  visiting  nurses  should  have 
their  office. 

"One  thing  about  my  staying  here  which  seems  en- 
couraging is  that  when  I  came  everybody  said  this  work 
could  not  be  put  on  foot.  Now  everybody  says  if  I  stay 
I  will  win  out.  I  am  willing  to  stay.  I  like  to  do  things 
other  people  say  cannot  be  done.  My  fighting  blood  is 
up.  The  fact  that  I  am  from  the  mountains  and  a  South- 
erner puts  me  in  good  favor. 

"Early  this  morning  I  was  called  out  to  a  case,  and 
then  the  colored  doctor  and  I  rode  a  mile  and  a  half 


RURAL  NURSING  187 

over  the  mountains  and  examined  thirty-five  children 
in  the  school.  I  stopped  on  my  way  home  to  see  two  that 
were  sick.  This  afternoon  I  picked  up  a  little  girl  on 
the  street,  who  had  fallen  and  fractured  the  femur.  We 
carried  her  to  the  doctor's  office,  set  the  limb,  and  then 
I  went  home  with  the  child  and  saw  that  she  was  put 
properly  to  bed.  The  house  was  one  of  the  poorest  and 
dirtiest  in  the  town,  so  if  I  can  get  them  to  clean  up 
I  will  be  glad.  I  used  the  extra  school  cards  for  the 
colored  school,  and  need  more  for  a  private  school  I 
have  also  been  asked  to  visit. 

"I  rode  over  to  the  city  last  week  to  arrange  for 
a  trachoma  clinic.  I  have  had  to  take  this  matter  up 
with  various  authorities,  and  I  have  gotten  everybody 
here  interested  in  the  trachoma  situation.  We  have  now 
had  the  specialist  and  operated  on  thirteen  cases.  Next 
week  there  will  be  fourteen.  All  cases  refusing  treat- 
ment are  dismissed  from  the  school.  I  established  a  tem- 
porary hospital  in  two  empty  rooms  that  the  owner 
kindly  loaned  us,  and  each  child  brought  its  cot  and 
bedding.  I  have  not  done  a  great  deal  of  work  in  the 
mines  lately,  for  I  have  been  so  busy  here  in  town ;  but 
this  month  I  am  going  to  try  to  do  more  for  them.  The 
poor  man  I  took  for  the  operation  has  been  sent  back, 
as  nothing  could  be  done  for  him.  I  met  the  train  and 
took  him  to  a  friend's;  but  he  wanted  to  go  home  to  his 
children,  so  last  Sunday  six  men  started  over  here  with 
him  on  a  cot  and  carried  him  four  miles  of  the  way; 
six  other  men  from  his  little  village  came  and  met  them 
and  carried  him  the  rest  of  the  way.  Just  think  of  being 
carried  nine  miles  on  a  cot  in  this  rough  country !  But 
there  was  no  other  way  to  make  it  except  in  a  two-horse 
wagon." 

The  busy  day  of  one  of  the  nurses  situated  in  a  vil- 
lage where  no  exceptional  features  exist  gives  an  excel- 
lent description  of  the  helpful  service  of  such  a  nurse : 

"The  telephone  rang  insistently    The  sun  had  a  little 


188    UNDER  THE  RED  CROSS  FLAG 

before  brightened  my  room  and  I  was  already  preparing 
for  my  day's  work. 

"  'Yes!  Mrs.  Allen,  did  you  say?  Oh,  I  hope  it  won't 
prove  as  serious  as  you  fear.  Get  Mr.  Allen  as  comfort- 
ably fixed  as  you  can,  and  I  will  be  there  in  a  few  mo- 
ments. ' 

''The  early  summons  sent  me  scurrying  off  for  my 
wraps  and  emergency  kit.  Out  to  the  stable  I  hurried, 
and  saddled  old  Dan,  my  ancient  but  faithful  steed,  that 
the  children  have  christened  'Baby,'  because  he  has  a 
nurse  to  take  care  of  him.  Off  in  the  frosty  morning 
I  cantered,  my  black  bag  at  my  side,  with  all  that  was 
necessary  for  first-aid  until  the  doctor  came.  Poor  old 
Deacon  Allen!  He  fell  on  the  slippery  steps  as  he 
started  to  the  barn  to  water  the  stock  at  sunrise;  and 
as  I  entered  the  kitchen  I  found  him  propped  up  on 
the  floor,  with  a  broken  bone  in  the  lower  leg.  A  few 
strong  shingles  made  a  temporary  splint,  and  then,  with 
many  moans  on  his  part,  many  sighs  on  hers,  and  many 
words  of  encouragement  on  mine,  Mrs.  Allen  and  I 
got  him  comfortably  settled  on  a  lounge  to  await  the 
doctor's  arrival.  After  a  hasty  breakfast,  which  I  helped 
prepare,  Mrs.  Allen  slipped  into  my  hand  twenty-five 
cents.  'It  isn't  enough/  she  said,  'we  are  poor,  but 
self-respecting  folk.  We  want  to  pay  for  what  we  can 
and  do  not  ask  charity  from  anyone/ 

"At  the  other  end  of  the  village,  two  miles  away, 
was  the  village  school,  and  as  this  was  one  of  my  school 
visiting  days  I  trotted  away  on  Dan  up  the  long,  broad 
street.  The  first  order  on  the  program  called  for  the 
tooth-brush  drill,  teaching  the  children  a  valuable  insur- 
ance against  dentist  bills.  It  was  amusing  to  see  how 
they  entered  into  it  as  if  it  was  a  sort  of  game.  The 
children  were  expecting  my  visit,  and  faces  were  aglow 
from  vigorous  scrubbings,  while  the  hair  lay  plastered 
flat  on  the  small  boys'  heads,  or  hung  in  neat  braids  down 
the  backs  of  the  little  girls.  It  took  some  time  to  teach 


RURAL  NURSING  189 

the  boys  that  a  small  clean  circle,  with  the  nose  as  the 
centre  of  the  circumference,  framed  by  a  border  of  un- 
washed surface,  and  a  total  ignoring  of  neck  and  ears, 
was  not  a  satisfactory  result  as  far  as  cleanliness  went, 
and  that  tidy  hair-brushing  extended  more  than  two 
inches  back  from  the  forehead;  for  it  is  hard  for  a  boy 
to  remember  he  has  a  neck  and  ears  or  a  back  to  his 
head  when  the  days  are  far  too  short  for  all  he  wants 
to  do. 

"As  the  tooth-brush  drill  went  on  I  noticed  one  of 
the  smaller  girls  was  very  inattentive.  After  the  class 
had  finished  I  remarked  on  the  girl's  manner  to  the 
teacher.  'She  has  been  that  way  all  the  morning  and 
I  can't  do  anything  with  her/  was  the  reply.  I  called 
the  little  one  to  me,  felt  her  feverish  forehead,  and 
looked  into  a  suspiciously  red  little  throat.  'There  are 
signs  of  danger  here  and  I  will  take  the  child  home.  The 
doctor  must  see  her  immediately.  Put  her  books  out  of 
the  children's  way.  If  diphtheria  develops  they  must  be 
burned  and  the  school  fumigated,'  I  cautioned  the 
teacher.  This  school  work  I  think  is  second  in  impor- 
tance only  to  that  for  the  babies.  Through  simple  talks 
I  teach  the  children  the  basic  principles  of  hygiene,  and 
I  keep  a  close  watch  for  poor  eyesight  or  other  troubles 
from  which  children  often  suffer  unnoticed  by  their  eld- 
ers. Last  week  I  took  small  Benny  to  town  to  be  fitted 
for  the  glasses  that  opened  a  new  world  to  his  near- 
sighted eyes.  Yesterday  there  was  a  sadder  visit  to  the 
city  to  go  with  a  poor  man  from  the  quarry,  whose  arm 
had  been  crushed  in  an  accident.  I  stayed  with  him  and 
encouraged  him  at  the  hospital  where  it  was  amputated. 

"Finished  with  my  school  inspection  work,  next 
came  the  baby  clinic.  My  committee  have  fitted  up  two 
rooms  for  me  in  the  centre  of  the  village,  and  here  twice 
a  week  the  mothers  who  have  tiny  babies  gather  for 
advice  and  aid.  The  doctor  also  comes  whenever  he  can. 
There  were  twenty-three  mothers  and  as  many  babies 


190         UNDER  THE  RED  CROSS  FLAG 

on  hand  this  morning.  The  women  formed  into  line 
and  I  went  at  once  to  the  scales,  undressed  the  babies 
and  proceeded  to  the  regular  weighing  process  that  tells 
the  doctor  and  myself  how  the  babies  are  thriving.  Some 
of  the  youngsters  did  not  enjoy  the  performance,  and  in 
a  short  time  there  was  a  chorus  under  way  that  would 
have  done  justice  to  a  full  orchestra  of  cubist  musicians 
— or  whatever  corresponds  in  music  to  the  cubist  in  art. 
Mrs.  Koralski  was  kindly  called  to  account  by  the  good 
doctor  when  her  nine-months '-old  baby  tipped  the  scales 
at  barely  twelve  pounds.  After  the  others  were  gone  I 
kept  her  to  show  her  how  to  feed  and  bathe  the  feeble 
morsel  of  humanity.  We  have  gained  the  confidence  of 
these  mothers  and  their  thanks  are  very  touching.  They 
go  away  with  babies  whose  chances  for  life  have  been 
multiplied  ten-fold  by  these  simple  instructions.  One 
of  the  women  stopped  me  this  morning  to  tell  me  that 
my  work  in  what  I  call  the  'Friendly  Hour  Club'  was 
fine,  for  her  daughter  had  'fixed  up  a  mustard  plaster 
for  her  father  almost  as  good  as  yours,  miss.' 

"On  my  way  home  I  ran  across  the  fields  to  old 
Mammy  Magruder's  cottage  to  give  her  a  bit  of  cheer 
and  a  jar  of  jelly  one  of  my  committee  had  sent  her. 

"The  afternoon  work  was  not  so  heavy.  There  were 
several  sick  patients  to  visit.  Tony  Salvatore,  poor  boy, 
was  one  of  them.  He  is  slowly  dying  of  tuberculosis, 
and  so  grateful  for  the  little  I  can  do,  though  I  have 
made  the  family  and  the  boy  realize  the  care  that  must 
be  taken  against  infection  from  the  disease.  On  my 
tour  of  visits  I  noticed  a  series  of  farmhouses,  one  above 
the  other  on  the  sloping  hillside.  One  of  these  houses 
drew  its  water  from  a  well  driven  near  the  brook  below. 
I  met  the  owner  at  the  gate,  and  in  some  trepidation 
told  him  that  I  had  seen  something  that  meant  danger 
to  him,  and  asked  if  I  might  talk  it  over  with  him.  It 
proved  easy  to  tell  my  story,  for  not  long  ago  Tom,  his 
eldest  boy,  had  died  of  typhoid  fever.  I  gained  an  ally 


BUBAL  NUBSING  191 

in  the  farmer,  who  promptly  determined  that  he  and 
his  neighbors  would  look  into  this  question  of  their  wells 
and  the  drainage  of  their  farms. 

"My  day's  work  was  nearly  over,  but  I  could  not 
go  home  until  I  had  met  my  boys'  brigade  assembled 
under  the  big  elm  tree  in  the  centre  of  the  town.  Into 
three  groups  they  were  divided,  and  under  each  group 
was  placed  the  charge  of  cleaning  up  a  particular  street. 
They  went  at  it  with  enthusiasm,  for  this  week's  prize 
given  by  the  committee  is  a  regular  league  baseball  and 
bat.  It  has  been  a  busy  day,  like  most  of  my  days,  for 
there  is  much  work  to  be  done;  but  though  tired,  I  go 
to  bed  happy  with  the  thought  of  what  has  been  accom- 
plished." 

This  new  field  of  Red  Cross  activity  is  but  in  its 
infancy  and  it  has  possibilities  of  wonderful  develop- 
ment. Though  we  have  not  the  sick  insurance  system  in 
this  country,  one  of  our  large  insurance  companies  pays 
fifty  cents  to  the  Bed  Cross  for  each  of  these  nurses' 
visits  to  their  policyholders.  It  would  seem  as  if  some 
such  system  as  that  in  Germany  might  be  worked  out  in 
some  of  our  progressive  communities.  In  a  village  or 
small  town  that  employs  a  Bed  Cross  nurse  and  that  is 
remote  from  a  hospital  a  Bed  Cross  station  might  be 
established,  in  charge  of  the  nurse;  such  a  station  to 
consist  of  a  small  house,  one  room  provided  with  a  few 
beds  and  an  emergency  equipment ;  another  arranged  for 
a  little  dispensary;  and  the  rest  used  for  the  nurses' 
and  caretakers'  home.  This  Bed  Cross  station,  under  a 
local  committee  and  with  the  co-operation  of  the  local 
physician,  would  become  the  centre  of  the  health  activi- 
ties of  the  little  community.  There  is  much  to  work 
out  in  the  details  if  such  a  plan  is  undertaken,  and  this 
is  only  a  suggestion;  but  the  benefits  of  to-day  are  the 
visions  of  yesterday  made  perfect. 


CHAPTER  XIII 

ELEVATING  THE  NATIONAL  CONSCIENCE.  THE  MACE- 
DONIAN  CRY,  "COME  OVER  AND  HELP  US."  MESSINA 
AND  ITS  HORRORS.  IN  THE  FAR  EAST.  FACING 
DEATH  TO  STAY  THE  PNEUMONIC  PLAGUE.  FAMINE 
PICTURES.  FLORENCE  NIGHTINGALE  AND  INDIA. 
FOOD  FOR  MILLIONS  BY  DRAINAGE  AND  RECLAMA- 
TION. THE  WORLD  THE  RED  CROSS  FIELD. 

WHY  the  standard  set  for  the  individual  conscience 
is  higher  than  that  set  for  the  national  conscience  is  a 
mystery.  "Thou  shalt  not  steal"  pronounces  the  man 
who  thieves  a  criminal;  but  the  nations  may  rob  their 
fellow  nations  with  little  or  no  reproach.  ''Thou  shalt 
not  kill"  applies  to  man,  and  he  who  breaks  the  law  is 
punished  as  a  murderer ;  but  the  great  powers  of  the  world 
slaughter  men  by  thousands  and  glory  in  their  victories. 

Centuries  ago  man  recognized  his  duty  to  his  fellow- 
man.  Not  only  were  laws  enforced  to  protect  the  indi- 
vidual and  safeguard  human  liberty,  but  the  unwritten 
moral  law  of  conscience  makes  man  responsible  for  the 
welfare  of  his  fellow-man.  The  countless  philanthropic 
organizations  that  exist  for  the  benefit  of  the  sick  or 
unfortunate,  and  which  are  maintained  by  private  benev- 
olence, testify  to  the  upward  trend  of  man's  ethical 
standard.  But  how  slowly  have  nations  advanced  along 
the  same  altruistic  line  ?  Has  their  attitude  toward  their 
fellow  nations  been  that  of  selfish  interest,  or  that  of 
broad,  generous  sympathy?  If  the  world  in  the  future  is 
to  be  spared  the  appalling  conditions  that  exist  to-day 
it  must  depend  upon  the  awakening  of  a  nobler  con- 
science among  the  nations. 

It  is  in  the  elevation  of  the  national  conscience  that 

the  Ited  Cross  plays  a  remarkable  role.     Arbitration 

courts  and  international  laws,   with  their  promise  of 

impartial  justice,  will  find  an  easier  road  to  the  temple 

192 


ELEVATING  THE  NATIONAL  CONSCIENCE  193 

of  universal  peace  where  mercy  has  blazed  the  way, 
for  "earthly  power  doth  then  show  likest  God's  when 
mercy  seasons  justice."  Through  the  channel  of  the 
Red  Cross  the  nation  answers  the  old  cry,  "Come  over 
into  Macedonia  and  help  us,"  and  in  helping  Mace- 
donia itself  rises  to  a  finer  realization  of  the  brotherhood 
of  nations.  Within  the  last  decade  more  than  two  score 
times  has  this  old  cry  echoed  to  our  shores,  and  never 
once  has  the  Red  Cross  failed  to  answer.  To  many  of  the 
countries  of  Europe,  to  Central  and  South  America,  to 
the  "Lady  of  the  Snows"  on  our  northern  border,  to 
the  Far  East,  and  to  the  remote  islands  of  the  seas,  have 
gone  the  help  and  sympathy  of  the  American  people 
under  the  flag  of  the  Red  Cross. 

Time  marks  with  a  blood-red  finger  certain  days  as 
he  turns  the  pages  of  history.    December  28,  1908,  was 
one  of  these.     A  shudder  of  horror  swept  round  the 
earth  as  the  awful  story  of  Messina,  of  Reggio  and  the 
other  towns  of  Sicily  and  southern  Italy  became  known. 
No  pen,  however  graphic,   can  describe  the  appalling 
catastrophe.     To  the  fair  cities  of  the  Mediterranean 
from  every  quarter  of  the  globe  there  rushed  a  tidal 
wave  of  sympathy  and  help.    Far  and  wide  in  our  own 
land  went  the  Red  Cross  appeal  for  earthquake-shattered 
Italy,  and  prompt  and  generous  was  the  response.    Hos- 
pital aid  for  the  pitiful  multitudes  of  crushed  and  man- 
gled victims  was  too  remote  for  our  active  participation, 
but  the  well  organized  Italian  Red  Cross  immediately 
established  sixteen  temporary  hospitals  and  these,  by  a 
donation  of  over  three  hundred  thousand  dollars,  the 
American  Red  Cross  helped  to  maintain.     The  railroad 
service  to  the  south  was  completely  disorganized,  and 
Sicily,  moreover,  was  an  island.     These  conditions  led 
Mr.  Lloyd  Griscom,  our  American  Ambassador  to  Italy, 
and  a  committee  of  prominent  Americans  in  Rome,  to 
decide  to  charter  a  relief  ship.     On  the  receipt  of  Mr. 
Griscom 's  cable   announcing  this  plan  the  American 
13 


194  UNDER  THE  RED  CROSS  FLAG 

Red  Cross  accepted  the  hundred  thousand  dollar  finan- 
cial responsibility  for  the  expedition.  More  than  half 
this  sum  was  expended  in  a  few  hours  for  medical  outfit, 
clothing  and  provisions,  especial  attention  being  paid 
to  the  selection  of  food  for  little  children  Under  the 
command  of  Lieutenant  Commander  Reginald  R.  Bel- 
knap,  United  States  Naval  Attache  at  Rome,  the  "Bay- 
ern"  set  sail  January  seventh  from  Civita  Vecchia,  flying 
the  Red  Cross  flag,  one  of  the  many  ships  of  mercy  the 
American  Red  Cross  has  sent  out  to  scenes  of  trouble 
and  distress. 

The  Ambassador  and  members  of  the  American  Com- 
mittee were  in  charge  of  funds  and  supplies.  Three 
doctors  and  eighteen  nurses  formed  the  medical  depart- 
ment. All  along  the  stricken  coast  sailed  the  ' '  Bayern, ' ' 
dropping  her  precious  cargo  by  the  way.  First,  at 
Messina,  then  on  to  Reggio  and  Catonia,  up  into  the 
mountain  villages  back  of  Giardini  and  Taormina,  went 
American  Red  Cross  messengers  with  help  to  the  poor 
little  communities  that  were  at  first  forgotten.  Palermo, 
though  not  a  sufferer  itself,  was  aided  because  of  the 
throngs  of  refugees  and  injured  that  had  flocked  to  that 
city.  The  doctors  and  nurses  were  landed  where  there 
was  the  greatest  need  for  their  services.  Funds  were 
contributed  to  hospitals  and  committees.  Canvas  for 
tents,  blankets,  shawls,  overcoats,  and  other  articles  of 
clothing,  were  distributed  by  the  thousands  at  every 
place.  To  the  local  authorities  who  expressed  to  the 
representatives  of  the  American  Red  Cross  the  heartfelt 
gratitude  for  this  aid  Captain  Belknap  replied  that  it 
was  "a  privilege  to  the  American  people  to  relieve  in 
some  small  measure  the  distressing  needs  of  this  beau- 
tiful land  and  its  people  in  the  time  of  sorrow."  The 
"Bayern"  did  not  go  to  Syracuse,  but  through  Mr.  Bay- 
ard Cutting,  Jr.,  contributions  of  money  were  sent  there, 
part  of  which  was  turned  over  for  the  good  work  of 
Miss  Katherine  B.  Davis,  who  chanced  to  be  at  Syracuse, 


MESSINA  AND  ITS  HORRORS  195 

and  who  was  made  there  the  special  representative  of 
the  American  Red  Cross.  In  organizing  the  relief  work 
Miss  Davis  found  herself  with  only  a  little  American 
flag,  while  on  the  walls  of  the  relief  committee's  room 
hung  several  large  flags  of  other  countries.  "So,"  re- 
lates Miss  Davis,  ' '  I  just  put  the  little  American  flag  in 
the  very  centre  of  them  all."  When  one  reads  of  what 
Miss  Davis  accomplished,  the  place  of  the  little  flag  does 
not  seem  unjustified. 

"Yesterday  and  to-day  a  Russian  and  an  English 
warship  have  brought  here  six  hundred  of  the  wounded 
and  more  are  expected  to-morrow.  It  is  like  what  it 
must  be  after  a  battle.  Many  of  them  are  horribly  muti- 
lated. There  are  no  hospital  accommodations,  and  you 
cannot  buy  a  ready-made  garment  in  the  town.  There 
is  only  one  trained  nurse  in  town — an  English  girl,  who 
escaped  in  her  night-dress  from  Messina.  She  is  a 
heroine  and  is  working  day  and  night  assisting  with  the 
amputations.  I  am  afraid  she  will  break  down.  I  was 
with  an  English  woman  last  night  who  had  to  have 
both  legs  amputated  at  one  o'clock  this  morning.  Her 
husband,  two  children,  a  brother  and  a  sister  were 
killed.  But  I  cannot  stop  to  write  you  to-night  of  the 
many  pathetic  cases  I  have  seen.  We  have  four  thousand 
refugees,  one  thousand  of  whom  are  seriously  wounded. 
The  German  Red  Cross,  of  Berlin,  and  the  Italian,  from 
Brescia,  got  here  on  Monday  of  this  week,  the  llth.  They 
have  taken  over  the  barracks  hospital,  the  worst  of  all, 
and  such  a  transformation!  They  are  doing  fine  work, 
with  splendid  fellows  in  charge.  It  was  unspeakably 
horrible  until  they  came.  After  the  first  few  days  in 
the  hospitals  I  found  I  could  do  better  work  in  helping 
the  refugees  to  help  themselves,  and  soon  started  the 
women  from  Messina  to  making  clothing. 

* '  Fortunately,  there  is  a  sewing  machine  agency  here, 
and  the  Mayor  of  the  town  is  of  the  right  sort.  He  placed 
a  room  in  the  Municipio  at  my  disposal,  and  an  alder- 


196         UNDER  THE  RED  CROSS  FLAG 

man — or  whatever  corresponds  to  alderman — who  speaks 
some  English,  selected  the  women  for  me,  and  I  pay 
them  a  franc  and  a  half  a  day.  We  now  have  sixty-eight 
employed,  in  three  different  places.  No  ready-made 
garments  could  be  purchased  in  the  town,  and  the  need 
for  clothing  was  extreme.  I  soon  used  up  my  own  money 
and  what  I  could  collect  from  people  at  the  hotel,  but, 
fortunately,  Bayard  Cutting,  Jr.,  came  on  Wednesday, 
and  liked  the  work  so  much  that  he  gave  me  $600  from 
the  relief  funds  to  pay  wages,  and  has  had  me  appointed 
the  Red  Cross  representative  here. 

"I  have  persuaded  the  Mayor  to  start  relief  work 
for  the  men,  road  building  or  what  not,  he  to  furnish 
the  tools  and  oversight,  and  we  (the  American  Red 
Cross)  will  pay  the  wages.  We  begin  tomorrow.  In 
short,  I  am  organizing  all  I  can  on  the  good  Charity 
Organization  Society  plan  of  making  the  able-bodied 
needy  work  for  what  they  can  get. 

"My  personal  impression  of  the  situation  is  that  the 
worst  is  yet  to  come,  when  the  temporary  relief  ceases. 

"I  shall  never  forget  the  horrors  I  have  seen  and 
heard,  and  I  was  not  at  Messina!" 

The  American  Red  Cross  turns  with  tender  memories 
to  the  work  of  one  of  its  special  representatives  in  the 
field  of  Italian  relief.  Bayard  Cutting,  Jr.,  delicate  in 
health,  took  no  thought  for  himself  in  his  devotion  to 
the  work.  The  morning  of  January  second  found  him 
already  at  Messina,  where  amidst  heart-rending  scenes 
of  misery  he  labored  day  after  day,  journeying  from 
place  to  place,  ever  active,  ever  busy,  accomplishing 
much  with  his  fine  ability  and  his  sympathetic  nature. 
In  the  spring  he  returned  to  America  and  to  Wash- 
ington to  render  an  account  of  his  stewardship.  There 
he  was  taken  seriously  ill,  but  he  was  not  content 
until  every  portion  of  his  report  was  completed  and  in 
the  Red  Cross  archives.  Whether  or  not  this  service 
shortened  his  noble  life  we  do  not  know ;  but  this  we  do 


MESSINA  AND  ITS  HORRORS          197 

know,  Bayard  Cutting  carried  the  Red  Cross  banner 
of  humanity  with  the  spirit  of  the  old  knight  whose 
name  he  bore,  "sans  peur  et  sans  reproche." 

Resisting  the  temptation  to  linger  among  the  many 
features  of  Red  Cross  work  in  Italy,  only  a  few  more 
may  be  dwelt  on  briefly.  When  part  of  our  Govern- 
ment's relief  appropriations  and  part  of  our  Red  Cross 
contributions  were  utilized  for  the  purchase  and  trans- 
portation of  building  materials  for  cottages,  it  was  the 
American  Red  Cross  which  provided  funds  and  sent 
master  carpenters  from  the  United  States  to  direct,  under 
Captain  Belknap  's  supervision,  the  construction  of  more 
than  two  thousand  of  these  little  houses,  a  hospital,  a 
small  hotel,  school-houses,  a  home  for  the  aged,  and  a  lit- 
tle church  in  whose  chancel  five  cottage  windows  filled 
with  red  glass  were  formed  in  the  shape  of  the  cross.  The 
good  bishop  called  this  "the  Church  of  the  Holy  Cross." 
In  appreciation  of  funds  given  to  an  Italian  rehabilita- 
tion committee  for  the  purchase  of  tools  and  sewing 
machines  a  silver  tablet  was  sent  the  American  Red 
Cross  bearing,  in  Latin,  a  quotation  from  the  Roman 
historian,  Velleius  Paterculus,  "Your  bounty  repaired 
the  catastrophe  not  merely  of  the  citizens  but  of  entire 
cities."  To  the  American  Red  Cross  the  Italian  Red 
Cross  sent  a  gold  medal  typifying  the  relief  work  and 
expressing  its  thanks  for  the  sympathetic  co-operation, 
and  to  one  of  the  American  officers  a  beautiful  repro- 
duction in  gold  of  the  old  civic  victor's  crown  was  pre- 
sented, in  the  name  of  the  Government  and  the  Italian 
people,  by  the  Secretary  of  State,  with  a  graceful  letter 
of  appreciation  "of  the  highly  generous  work  inspired 
and  accomplished  with  such  intelligent  love." 

[Gifts  and  decorations  to  individuals  who  have  taken 
part  in  relief  work  have  since  then  been  disapproved  by 
the  American  Red  Cross,  which  prefers  to  confer  its 
own  medals  of  merit  for  unremunerated  service.] 

At  Palmi  there  has  been  built  with  Italian  gifts  the 


198    UNDER  THE  RED  CROSS  FLAG 

beautiful  Agricultural  Orphanage,  endowed  from  relief 
funds  by  the  American  Red  Cross  to  care  for  one  hun- 
dred orphan  boys  and  to  teach  them  to  be  intelligent  and 
practical  self-supporting  citizens  of  their  country.  As 
a  lasting  token  of  our  sympathy  for  Italy  in  the  hour 
of  sorrow,  this  orphanage  stands,  and  over  its  portals 
appear  in  English  the  words,  "American  Red  Cross 
Orphanage." 

We  must  pass  by  earthquakes  at  Valparaiso,  at 
Kingston,  in  Costa  Rica,  Turkey  and  Portugal;  floods 
in  France,  Serbia  and  Mexico;  fires  at  Colon,  burning 
forests  in  Canada,  sealing  fleet  disasters  in  Newfound- 
land, Japanese  and  Russian  famines,  Armenian  mas- 
sacres, Balkan  wars,  and  Nicaraguan  revolutions.  In 
all  of  these  and  many  more  has  the  American  Red  Cross 
held  out  a  helping  hand,  filled  with  the  generous  and 
practical  sympathy  of  our  people.  Remembering  the 
funds  contributed  for  our  sick  and  wounded  soldiers 
during  the  war  with  Spain,  by  the  Portuguese  Red  Cross, 
whose  sympathies  must  have  been  with  its  neighbor,  but 
whose  spirit  was  truly  that  of  the  Red  Cross,  it  was  a 
pleasure  to  receive  from  Lisbon  after  an  earthquake  in 
its  vicinity  a  picture  of  a  group  of  little  homes  with  the 
inscription  underneath,  ' '  The  houses  that  the  American 
Red  Cross  has  aided  to  be  built  by  the  Portuguese  Red 
Cross." 

Into  Manchuria  let  us  follow  our  Red  Cross  on  to 
a  field  of  new  activity.  The  pneumonic  plague,  a  strange, 
unknown  pestilence,  far  more  deadly  than  the  bubonic 
plague,  had  broken  out.  Corrupting  the  lungs,  the 
object  of  its  sudden  attack,  it  brought  certain  death  in 
a  few  short  hours.  China,  alarmed,  begged  for  an  inter- 
national commission  for  its  suppression,  and  the  State 
Department  turned  to  the  Red  Cross.  An  expert  on 
plagues  was  not  on  its  list,  but  an  expert  on  plagues  it 
would  and  did  find.  Dr.  Richard  P.  Strong,  who  was 
in  the  Philippines,  and  who  had  successfully  fought  the 


THE  PNEUMONIC  PLAGUE  199 

bubonic  plague,  with  bis  assistant,  Dr.  Oscar  Teague, 
gave  their  services  for  this  dangerous  but  most  impor- 
tant mission.  For  five  week  before  the  international 
commission  met  at  Mukden  these  courageous  men  studied 
the  plague,  working  in  costumes  like  Misericordia  Broth- 
ers, and  in  addition  with  four  inches  of  cotton  wadding 
over  mouth  and  nose  to  exclude  the  fatal  bacilli.  When 
the  international  commission  met,  Dr.  Strong  was  the 
leading  spirit.  Supported  by  the  Chinese  Government, 
the  measures  proposed  by  the  commission  were  put  into 
operation  and  this  terrible  scourge  suppressed.  Had 
the  coolies  from  Shantung,  who  go  for  the  summer  har- 
vesting up  to  Manchuria,  brought  it  back  to  famine- 
stricken  central  China,  it  would  have  spread  through 
the  country  like  fire  through  stubble,  pushed  on  to  the 
Philippines,  Korea  and  Japan,  and  perhaps  invaded 
America  from  our  western  coast.  Countless  lives  saved 
by  the  courage  and  by  the  earnest,  persistent  labors  of 
these  men  remain  unnumbered ;  but  this  work  may  have 
stood  between  the  world  and  some  awful  scourge  like 
that  of  the  "Black  Death"  in  the  fourteenth  century. 
We  shall  hear  of  Dr.  Strong  again. 

War,  of  all  the  great  disasters  with  which  the  Red 
Cross  has  had  to  deal,  is  the  only  one  that  exceeds 
famine  in  its  miseries  and  long-drawn-out  sufferings, 
and  only  then  when  war  is  so  extended  and  so  prolonged 
that  famine  and  disease  become  its  grim  companions. 

The  gaunt,  awful  spectre  of  famine  creeps  with 
stealthy  steps  upon  a  nation.  Floods  or  drouths,  or 
the  hand  of  man,  prepare  its  way.  Fields  of  ripening 
grain  are  rotted  and  destroyed  by  overflowing  rivers 
that  broaden  into  vast  shallow  lakes,  or  parched  and 
burned  under  hot,  cloudless  heavens  that  withhold  their 
rains,  or  devastated  by  the  hosts  of  war. 

That  Florence  Nightingale  interested  herself  in 
famine  prevention  in  India  is  not  generally  known,  but 
in  1874  she  completed  the  first  proof  of  a  volume  dealing 


200          UNDER  THE  RED  CROSS  FLAG 

with,  irrigation  for  that  country,'  entitled  "The  Zemin- 
dar, the  Sun,  and  the  Watering  Pot  as  Affecting  Life 
and  Death  in  India."  This,  to  her  later  regret,  was 
never  published.  She  was  convinced  that  the  real  rem- 
edy lay  in  the  improvement  of  economic  conditions 
rather  than  in  temporary  measures.  The  fact  that  Miss 
Nightingale,  a  pioneer  in  Red  Cross  work,  had  given 
such  earnest  thought  to  famine  prevention  shows  how 
naturally  such  endeavors  fall  within  the  proper  scope 
of  Red  Cross  duties,  though  the  article  dealing  with  this 
work  of  hers  in  the  ' '  Contemporary  Review, ' '  of  April, 
1914,  was  printed  several  years  after  the  American  Red 
Cross  had  undertaken  the  study  of  prevention  of  famine 
in  China  and  its  officers  were  unaware  of  Miss  Nightin- 
gale's unpublished  book. 

Time  and  time  again  have  China  and  India,  and 
parts  of  Russia,  known  what  famines  are.  China,  with 
her  immense  population,  is  quick  to  feel  the  clutch  of 
the  fatal  fingers  of  starvation  when  over  the  fertile 
valley  of  the  Huai  River,  the  granary  of  the  Empire, 
the  river  and  shallow  lakes  flood  thousands  of  square 
miles  of  cultivated  lands.  No  other  words  can  I  find 
to  describe  even  faintly  famine  conditions  than  those 
written  last  year  for  the  Red  Cross  Magazine: 

"Picture  if  you  can,  the  sufferings  of  hundreds  of 
thousands  of  human  beings.  Their  houses  sold  for  a 
little  food  or  burned  by  bits  for  a  little  warmth,  the 
farms  flooded — water-soaked,  the  unharvested,  rotted 
grain — these  wretched  people  are  driven,  a  pathetic  pil- 
grimage, to  the  large  cities.  Scantily  clad,  with  hunger 
written  on  their  pallid  faces,  one  sees  the  man  bearing 
as  best  he  can  the  emaciated  form  of  some  old  father  or 
mother ;  the  woman,  her  wailing  baby  pressed  to  a  breast 
that  has  no  nourishment  to  give  it,  and  her  little  children 
clinging  to  her  dress  to  help  their  weak  and  trembling 
steps.  They  stop  by  the  way  to  grub  from  the  muddy 
earth  a  few  roots  or  tear  from  the  trees  a  few  handfuls 


DRAINAGE  AND  RECLAMATION  201 

of  bark  to  stay  for  a  moment  the  pangs  of  their  bitter 
hunger,  no  matter  what  the  sufferings  that  may  arise 
from  food  that  is  not  food  and  that  serves  only  to  fill 
the  empty,  craving  stomachs.  Occasionally  one  drops 
by  the  roadside.  Nature,  which  fights  so  hard  for  human 
life,  gives  up.  Covering  his  face,  the  others  leave  him 
there  alone,  pushing  on  with  weary  hearts  and  feeble 
bodies,  whither  they  hardly  know. 

' '  To  the  miseries  of  physical  suffering  must  be  added 
the  mental  anguish  of  watching  those  they  love  hunger 
and  die.  The  hands  of  the  children  upstretched  for  food 
she  cannot  give,  their  hungry  eyes,  their  trembling 
bodies  and  pitiful  cries  tear  the  mother's  heart  with  a 
pain  no  words  can  describe.  Moral  degradation  follows. 
Honest  men  become  desperate,  and  in  their  desperation 
turn  to  robbery,  brigandage  and  murder.  In  prison 
one  may  have  food,  and  better  far  die  by  the  swift  hand 
of  the  executioner  than  by  the  slow  torture  of  starva- 
tion." 

Since  1907  the  American  Red  Cross  has  expended 
nearly  six  hundred  thousand  dollars  for  famine  relief  in 
China,  and  this  does  not  include  the  large  cargoes  of 
food  nor  the  contributions  of  missionary  and  other 
organizations.  In  that  part  of  China  that  lies  north  of 
the  Huai  River,  the  Hungtze  Lake,  and  the  old  bed  of 
the  Yellow  River,  and  south  of  the  present  bed  of  the 
same  river,  lies  a  continent  in  the  making,  which  for 
more  than  two  thousand  years  has  known  little  rest  from 
flood  operations.  The  Great  Yu,  before  the  time  of 
Christ,  undertook  conservancy  works  in  this  same  dis- 
trict. During  the  last  few  years  these  floods  have  so 
increased  that  over  the  entire  area  the  farmers  do  not 
average  two  crops  in  five  years,  whereas  if  floods  could 
be  eliminated  they  would  harvest  annually  two  large 
crops. 

Recognizing  its  duty  of  prevention,  in  1911  the  Red 
Cross,  with  the  approval  of  the  State  Department,  of- 


202         UNDER  THE  RED  CROSS  FLAG 

fered  to  the  Chinese  Government  an  expert  engineer  on 
river  conservancy  work,  with  a  view  to  designing  some 
scheme  by  means  of  which  the  flood  level  could  be  low- 
ered, the  rivers  properly  channeled,  and  the  swamps 
and  shallow  lakes  drained  and  made  available  for  agri- 
culture. This  offer  was  accepted,  and  Mr.  Charles  D. 
Jameson,  who  had  spent  many  years  in  China,  selected 
for  the  work.  The  change  in  the  Chinese  Government 
somewhat  retarded  his  efforts,  but  in  1912  he  submitted 
a  report  of  his  preliminary  survey  to  the  Chinese  Govern- 
ment and  the  American  Bed  Cross,  showing  the  feasi- 
bility of  such  a  design  and  that  the  land  reclaimed  and 
improved  would  itself  pay  for  the  necessary  expendi- 
ture. The  Chinese  Government  then  asked  the  Amer- 
ican Red  Cross  to  secure  for  it  the  required  loan  and  to 
select  the  engineer  to  be  placed  in  charge.  At  a  joint 
meeting  of  the  Executive  Committee  and  International 
Belief  Board  of  the  Bed  Cross  the  subject  was  given  care- 
ful consideration  by  such  members  as  the  chairman,  Gen- 
eral George  W.  Davis,  Senator  Elihu  Boot,  Mr.  Frank- 
lin K.  Lane,  Secretary  of  the  Interior;  Professor  John 
Bassett  Moore,  then  counselor  of  the  State  Department ; 
Mr.  Seth  Low,  Mr.  John  Barrett,  Mr.  Henry  D.  Flood, 
chairman  of  the  Committee  on  Foreign  Affairs;  Mr. 
Franklin  D.  Boosevelt,  Assistant  Secretary  of  the  Navy, 
and  a  number  of  others.  A  message  was  drafted  and 
sent  through  the  State  Department  to  Dr.  Paul  Beinsch, 
the  American  Minister  at  Peking,  to  be  transmitted  to 
the  Chinese  Government,  to  the  effect  that  the  American 
Bed  Cross,  being  a  humanitarian  and  philanthropic  or- 
ganiaztion,  could  not  extend  its  function  to  business 
enterprises,  but  that  it  would  consent  to  use  its  good 
offices  to  aid  the  Chinese  Government  in  interesting  bank- 
ers and  construction  companies  in  the  proposition,  and 
that  it  would  endeavor  to  secure  the  services  of  a  com- 
petent engineer  to  be  appointed  by  the  Chinese  Govern- 
ment in  charge  of  the  work.  The  necessity  for  a  more 


DRAINAGE  AND  RECLAMATION        203 

complete  and  thorough  survey  before  the  loan  could  be 
considered  was  explained,  and  the  Chinese  Government 
agreed  to  share  with  the  Red  Cross  the  cost  of  such  a 
survey.  In  the  summer  of  1914  a  board  of  three  eminent 
engineers,  consisting  of  Colonel  William  L.  Sibert,  who 
had  just  completed  the  Gatun  lock  and  dam  at  Panama 
and  who  was  allowed  to  undertake  this  Chinese  survey 
by  means  of  a  special  Act  of  Congress;  Mr.  Arthur  P. 
Davis,  chief  engineer  of  the  United  States  Reclamation 
Service;  and  Professor  Daniel  W.  Mead,  of  the  Ohio 
Flood  Commission ;  with  Mr.  Jameson  as  an  adviser,  and 
a  number  of  assistants,  was  sent  to  China  to  make  a 
thorough  study  of  flood  conditions  and  to  prepare  de- 
signs for  river  conservancy  in  the  Huai  district.  The 
very  satisfactory  result  of  the  board's  work  is  shown 
by  its  report  published  by  the  Red  Cross.  These  excep- 
tionally able  and  practical  engineers  have  outlined  a 
plan  by  which  this  great  conservancy  work  can  be  car- 
ried out,  the  Huai  district  drained  into  the  Yangtse 
River,  in  six  years'  time,  at  an  approximate  expenditure 
of  thirty  million  dollars,  the  estimated  return  from  the 
value  of  lands  reclaimed  and  the  increased  value  of 
lands  benefited  meeting  the  entire  cost  of  the  operation. 

At  a  meeting  of  the  Red  Cross  International  Relief 
Board  presided  over  by  Mr.  Robert  Lansing,  the  pres- 
ent Secretary  of  State,  to  hear  Colonel  Sibert 's  report, 
Senator  Root  called  attention  to  the  great  value  of  an 
organization  such  as  the  Red  Cross,  to  which  China, 
suffering  from  so  many  unfair  advantages  other  nations 
had  taken  of  her  condition,  could  turn  for  aid,  with 
complete  confidence  in  its  disinterested  and  altruistic 
motives.  No  sinister  intent  to  obtain  selfish  gain  or 
establish  spheres  of  influnce  lurked  back  of  its  honest 
desire  to  be  of  help. 

An  amusing  incident  occurred  during  this  meeting. 
Colonel  Sibert  was  describing  earnestly  the  erratic  ways 
of  the  Yellow  River,  "China's  Sorrow,"  the  peregrina- 


204         UNDER  THE  RED  CROSS  FLAG 

tions  of  whose  channel  and  outlet  to  the  sea  have  taken 
it  hither  and  thither,  many  miles  north  and  south,  dur- 
ing a  score  of  centuries,  when  he  was  interrupted  by 
Senator  Eoot,  who  asked,  with  a  suspicion  of  a  twinkle 
in  his  eye,  "Does  it  carry  anything  else  but  water?" 
To  which  Colonel  Sibert  solemnly  replied,  "Yes,  sir, 
sediment. ' ' 

Among  the  many  other  misfortunes  caused  by  the 
present  colossal  war  must  be  included  the  effect  upon 
the  financial  world  which  has  prevented  China  securing 
the  loan  necessary  to  carry  out  this  important  project. 
For  the  sake  of  the  multitude  of  her  people,  whose  lives 
depend  upon  its  being  done,  and  for  the  sake  of  the 
untold  human  misery  in  the  future  that  it  will  prevent, 
let  us  hope  this  great  work  may  not  long  be  delayed. 
Professor  Paul  Reinsch,  the  American  Minister  at 
Peking,  says  of  it : 

"At  the  present  time  a  condition  of  distress  again 
exists  in  this  region ;  this  is  added  evidence  of  the  neces- 
sity of  the  work;  and  such  heartrending  calamities  will 
continue  to  dominate  this  most  fertile  region  of  China 
until  radical  relief  is  afforded,  such  as  only  the  Huai 
River  improvement  can  give.  This  condition  is  also  an 
argument  in  favor  of  the  immediate  commencement  of 
the  engineering  works. 

"I  may  state  to  you,  as  I  have  said  to  the  Depart- 
ment of  State  and  to  the  President,  that  there  is  no 
undertaking  at  present  proposed  in  China  which  equals 
in  importance  and  significance  the  Huai  River  improve- 
ment. It  is  not  only  that  millions  of  acres  of  the  most 
fertile  agricultural  land  of  China  will  be  reclaimed  to 
usefulness,  affording  assured  means  of  livelihood  to 
twenty  million  human  beings,  but  the  character  of  the 
work  itself  is  of  such  a  nature  that  its  execution  would 
have  a  profound  influence  on  the  future  of  China.  The 
work  would  be  a  model  for  scientific  method  and  organ- 
ization as  applied  throughout  Chinese  life.  More  espe- 


DRAINAGE  AND  RECLAMATION        205 

cially,  however,  it  would  be  the  beginning  of  reclaiming 
the  waste  lands  of  China  and  utilizing  the  forces  of 
nature,  as  represented  in  the  rain-swollen  streams,  with 
the  result  that,  according  to  the  computations  of  com- 
petent experts,  the  agricultural  productivity  of  China 
could  be  increased  by  nearly  one  hundred  per  cent.  This 
is  the  starting  point  of  all  reform,  leading  to  the  better- 
ment of  conditions  of  life  in  this  country.  That  these 
opportunities  exist  is  recognized  by  the  leading  rep- 
resentatives of  all  nations:  the  American  project  has 
therefore  been  given  generous  commendation  and  sup- 
port in  the  press  throughout  the  world,  such  as  has  never 
fallen  to  any  other  foreign  enterprise  in  China,  without 
exception. 

"I  have  written  so  fully  to  you  about  this  matter 
because  I  realize  that  in  this  enterprise  lies  the  finest 
opportunity  which  America  has  ever  had  of  bringing  a 
great  liberating  influence  to  bear  in  China — liberating 
millions  of  people,  and  eventually  the  entire  population, 
from  the  dominance  of  unfavorable  natural  conditions. 
All  Americans  in  China  realize  the  importance  of  this 
work.  Having  put  our  hands  to  the  improvement  of 
famine  conditions  in  central  China,  it  has  become  a  mat- 
ter of  justifiable  national  pride  that  this  great  work 
should  be  carried  to  the  successful  issue  which  is  now 
in  sight." 

What  our  Red  Cross  has  done  for  the  present  Euro- 
pean war  will  be  left  to  later  pages. 

So  few  of  its  many  stories  of  international  relief  in 
the  past,  and  so  little  of  even  these  can  be  told  in  a 
single  chapter  to  illustrate  its  beautiful  service  as  the 
almoner  of  the  American  people.  Yet  I  believe  enough 
has  been  said  to  prove  that  through  the  medium  of  the 
Red  Cross  the  best  impulses  of  our  national  character 
find  expression,  and  a  higher,  truer  sense  is  developed  of 
the  brotherhood  of  nations. 


CHAPTER  XIV 

WHERE  THE  MONEY  COMES  FROM.  THE  DIFFERENT 
FUNDS.  MEMBERSHIP  AND  ENDOWMENT.  RELIEF 
APPEALS.  STORIES  OF  THE  CONTRIBUTIONS.  ONE 
HUNDRED  THOUSAND  DOLLARS.  THE  BABIES'  PEN- 
NIES. THE  JEWISH  WOMAN'S  GIFT.  THE  GRATEFUL 
ITALIAN  SAILOR.  FROM  AN  IRISH  REFUGEE.  THE 
MINER'S  GRATITUDE.  RECIPROCITY.  THE  IMPOR- 
TANCE OF  A  RESERVE  FUND. 

" WHERE  does  the  money  come  from,"  is  a  question 
constantly  asked  of  the  Red  Cross  officers,  after  the  in- 
quirers have  listened  to  reports  of  its  immense  fields  of 
work.  "From  voluntary  public  contributions,"  would 
be  the  simplest  answer;  but  a  more  satisfactory  reply 
can  best  be  made  by  an  explanation  of  its  different  funds 
and  their  purposes. 

The  General  Fund  was  formerly  called  the  Admin- 
istrative Fund,  but  to  avoid  a  large  number  of  minor 
funds  that  had  not  to  do  strictly  with  administrative 
work  the  term  "general"  was  substituted.  This  fund 
includes  the  administrative  expenses  of  the  central  and 
division  offices;  the  floating  capital  of  the  Christmas 
seal  expenditure ;  the  fund  for  the  maintenance  of  first- 
aid  instructions,  together  with  the  salaries  and  expenses 
of  the  four  physician  instructors  and  one  life-saving 
instructor,  the  caretakers  of  the  two  cars  and  the  upkeep 
of  these  cars  on  which  the  railroad  instructors  live  and 
travel ;  the  moneys  for  the  purchase  of  supplies  and  text- 
books for  the  First  Aid  Supply  Bureau,  which  are  sold 
at  a  small  profit,  but  sufficient  to  maintain  this  bureau ; 
for  the  Nursing  Service  and  women's  classes  in  home 
care  of  the  sick;  for  the  Town  and  Country  Nursing 
Service ;  and  for  the  expense  in  connection  with  the  Red 
Cross  monthly  magazine  that  every  member  receives. 

This  General  Fund  is  derived  from  various  sources. 
206 


THE  DIFFERENT  FUNDS  207 

When  membership  dues  are  received  through  chapters, 
eighty  per  cent,  of  the  ten  dollar  sustaining  membership 
dues  and  fifty  per  cent  of  the  annual  dollar  membership 
dues  are  transmitted  to  the  National  Treasurer.  The 
entire  amount  of  dues  of  members-at-large  is  received 
by  the  central  organization.  These  produce  an  annual 
income  of  about  ten  thousand  dollars. 

The  Japanese  Red  Cross  receives  from  its  three  yen 
($1.50)  yearly  dues  a  very  large  income,  as  it  has  a 
membership  of  over  one  million  eight  hundred  thousand ; 
it  has  besides  the  interest  on  its  great  endowment  fund. 
Though  none  of  the  European  Red  Cross  societies  have 
memberships  equal  to  that  of  Japan,  some  have  several 
hundred  thousand  members,  whose  dues  provide  large 
annual  funds. 

Besides  the  membership  dues,  the  interest  on  the 
American  Red  Cross  Endowment  Fund,  on  bank  bal- 
ances, generous  annual  contributions  for  special  pur- 
poses from  several  members,  the  profits  from  the  sale  of 
first-aid  supplies,  and  one-half  of  any  profit  that  may 
remain  after  the  Christmas  seal  expenses  are  met  from 
the  ten  per  cent,  the  Red  Cross  receives  from  the  net 
sale  of  the  seals,  complete  the  sources  from  which  the 
General  Fund  is  obtained.  The  other  moiety  on  the 
Christmas  seal  profits  is  given  to  the  National  Society  for 
the  Study  and  Prevention  of  Tuberculosis. 

The  Endowment  Fund,  as  its  name  implies,  is  a  per- 
manent fund,  only  the  income  from  which  can  be  used 
for  any  or  all  Red  Cross  purposes.  Although  this  fund 
is  the  recipient  of  patron  and  life  membership  dues,  it 
mainly  depends  upon  special  contributions.  During  Pres- 
ident Taft's  administration  he  appointed  a  large  number 
of  local  endowment  fund  committees  of  prominent  men 
in  various  cities.  In  his  letter  of  appointment  Mr.  Taft 
said:  ''The  time  has  come  when  the  American  Red  Cross 
should  be  placed  on  a  permanent  and  efficient  basis  by 
an  endowment  fund  whose  income  will  enable  it  to  be 


208          UNDER  THE  RED  CROSS  FLAG 

prepared  at  all  times  to  carry  out  the  purposes  for  which, 
it  has  been  created.  It  is  the  authorized  official  organi- 
zation of  the  United  States  for  volunteer  aid  in  time  of 
war  or  great  disaster."  The  funds  received  for  relief 
work  had  proved  the  public  confidence  in  the  organiza- 
tion, Mr.  Taf t  noted,  and  continued :  ' '  but  it  is  of  equal 
importance  that  the  society  should  be  able  to  maintain  an 
organization  capable  of  administering  such  large  funds 
to  the  greatest  advantage.  The  experience  in  relief  mat- 
ters gained  by  a  permanent  organization  is  beyond  ques- 
tion, and  insures  far  abler  and  wiser  expenditure  of 
relief  funds  than  can  be  secured  by  temporary  and  sud- 
denly created  committees.  .  .  In  case  of  great 
disasters  the  Red  Cross  should  have  such  a  balance  on 
hand  as  to  enable  it  to  take  immediate  action  without 
being  forced  to  wait  until  contributions  are  received. 
The  standing  of  this  remarkable  organization  throughout 
the  world,  its  importance  to  our  own  country,  and  its 
beneficent  influence  for  peace  and  good  will  in  interna- 
tional relief  work  commend  it  to  the  public-spirited  men 
and  women  of  the  United  States." 

These  local  endowment  fund  committees  were  asked 
to  raise  in  their  respective  communities  an  amount  equal 
to  ten  cents  per  capita  of  the  population.  This  rate 
made  the  quota  of  New  York  City,  for  example,  with  its 
population  of  four  million  seven  hundred  thousand, 
$470,000.  The  New  York  committee  had  a  nest-egg  in 
twenty-five  thousand  dollars,  already  contributed  for  the 
endowment,  and  went  at  its  work  with  enthusiasm. 
Mr.  J.  P.  Morgan,  when  approached  by  its  chairman, 
immediately  made  the  offer  to  give  one  hundred  thou- 
sand as  soon  as  four  hundred  thousand  was  secured.  The 
donor  of  twenty-five  thousand  doubled  her  gift,  and 
another  prominent  woman  in  New  York  gave  a  like 
amount.  A  legacy  from  an  estate,  and  three  other  Red 
Cross  members  made  up  the  second  hundred  thousand. 
Generous  contributions  were  obtained  from  several  men 


THE  ENDOWMENT  FUND  209 

by  the  committee.  But  the  fund  still  lacked  sixty  thou- 
sand of  the  amount  necessary  to  obtain  the  banker's 
generous  offer,  when  a  single  mail  brought  from  one 
family  in  New  York  City  seventy  thousand  dollars 
from  its  different  members.  Forty-five  people  in  New 
York  City  gave  five  hundred  and  ten  thousand  dollars, 
not  counting  the  special  endowment  of  a  hundred  thou- 
sand for  the  Town  and  Country  Nursing  Service.  Thus 
our  largest  city  raised  more  than  its  share. 

The  pretty  old  town  of  Manchester-by-the-Sea,  in 
Massachusetts,  was  the  first  of  the  small  towns  to  fulfil 
its  duty  as  to  the  Red  Cross  Endowment.  The  popula- 
tion of  Manchester  is  twenty-seven  hundred.  This  made 
its  quota  two  hundred  and  seventy  dollars.  To  secure 
this  amount  some  one  proposed  a  bag  sale,  and  the  whole 
town  entered  into  the  plan  with  the  broad  spirit  of  the 
Red  Cross  that  embraces  all.  The  select-men  gave  the 
town  hall  without  charge.  The  local  G.  A.  R.  loaned  all 
their  flags  for  decoration.  The  carpenter  put  up  the  booths 
and  decorated  each  with  red,  white  or  blue  cheesecloth 
given  by  a  kindly  man,  as  he  was  ' '  not  gifted  in  the  mak- 
ing of  bags;"  and  the  painter  painted  all  the  signs. 
The  Congregational  Church  committee  took  the  red  table, 
with  its  miscellaneous  bags;  the  Unitarian  and  Epis- 
copal summer  churches  united  at  the  white  table,  for 
working,  sewing  and  mending  bags;  the  Baptist  church 
had  the  blue  table,  for  travelers '  bags ;  the  Roman  Cath- 
olic church  took  charge  of  the  ice  cream  and  cake  table ; 
while  the  Harmony  Guild  presided  over  the  lemonade, 
and  the  King's  Daughters  sold  candy  in  bags  of  various 
kinds.  The  Woman's  Club  had  charge  of  decorations, 
and  the  editors  of  the  two  weekly  Manchester  papers 
constituted  the  publicity  committee. 

The  increase  in  the  bag  species  was  astonishing.  New 
bags  were  invented,  and  old  bags  brought  to  light  and 
reproduced.  Bags  came  from  far  and  wide.  Even  Mis- 
tress Pussy  was  not  forgotten,  a  bag  for  her  journeying 


210         UNDER  THE  RED  CROSS  FLAG 

being  sent  by  a  charming  member  of  Boston's  old  literary 
world,  regarding  which  a  brilliant  New  York  Unitarian 
divine  suggested  that  its  furnishings  be  mice.  As  the 
great  number  of  bags  accumulated  the  question  arose 
among  the  skeptical  as  to  the  equally  important  number 
of  purchasers.  These  went  beyond  all  expectations. 
The  sale  began  at  three  o'clock,  and  by  four  the  tables 
were  practically  denuded  of  every  bag,  and  more  were 
clamored  for.  Hundreds  of  people  packed  the  town 
hall,  automobiles  and  carriages  blocked  the  town  streets. 
The  chief  of  police,  who,  with  his  assistants,  was  taking 
care  of  the  traffic,  hardly  found  a  moment  to  dash  in 
and  secure  the  bachelor's  sewing  bag  he  had  reserved 
earlier  in  the  day.  What  of  the  financial  results  ?  Man- 
chester had  raised  over  two  thousand  dollars,  nearly 
eight  times  her  quota,  and  not  a  single  penny  of  expense 
was  incurred.  Our  largest  city  and  one  of  our  smallest 
towns  have  each  patriotically  completed  their  share  of 
the  American  Red  Cross  endowment.  Only  a  very  few 
others  have  done  the  same.  San  Francisco  nearly  doubled 
its  quota.  The  District  of  Columbia  in  a  short  time 
obtained  more  than  its  share,  as  did  St.  Louis.  Scranton 
next  fell  into  line;  and  fired  with  enthsuiasm  by  what 
Manchester  had  accomplished,  the  little  nearby  villages 
of  Amesbury  and  Magnolia  each  secured  double  their 
apportionment.  The  always  faithful  Canal  Zone  Chap- 
ter, dependent  upon  a  small  American  population,  with- 
out delay  sent  in  its  share.  These  so  far  are  the  only 
communities  that  have  fulfilled  their  obligation.  All 
the  important  Red  Cross  societies  of  Europe  are  largely 
endowed,  such  endowment  amounting  in  some  countries 
to  four  or  five  millions  of  dollars,  while  the  endowment 
fund  of  the  Japanese  Red  Cross  is  thirteen  million  dol- 
lars. These  funds  are  constantly  being  augmented  by 
legacies  and  gifts  as  special  tokens  of  the  donors' 
patriotic  devotion  to  the  country. 

Special  Red  Cross  funds  will  at  any  time  be  as 


SPECIAL  RELIEF  FUNDS  211 

numerous  as  the  special  relief  fields  in  which  work  is 
being  carried  on.  Sometimes  such  funds  have  special 
subdivisions,  as  in  the  case  of  the  present  European 
war,  which  besides  the  general  war  relief  fund  has  a 
number  of  funds  consisting  of  special  contributions  for 
each  country  involved,  for  noncombatants  and  other 
particular  purposes.  The  wishes  of  the  donors  are  al- 
ways respected  by  the  Bed  Cross,  and  their  contribu- 
tions administered  according  to  their  desires. 

These  special  relief  funds  are  generally  obtained  by 
means  of  public  appeals.  Since  the  reorganization  of 
the  American  Red  Cross  in  1905  in  cases  of  serious  dis- 
asters the  Presidents  of  the  United  States  have  in  their 
capacity  as  president  of  the  Bed  Cross  issued  specific 
appeals  asking  that  funds  be  contributed  to  the  Red 
Cross  for  relief  purposes.  These  appeals  have  been  sup- 
plemented by  others  from  the  Executive  Committee  with 
instructions  to  whom  or  how  contributions  should  be 
sent.  When  the  disaster  is  sensational  in  its  nature,  and 
especially  where  there  is  reported  to  be  a  large  loss  of 
life,  the  response  is  prompt  and  generous.  But  when  the 
awful  sufferings  produced  by  famines  overwhelm  great 
numbers  by  slow,  sure  and  gradual  degrees,  the  public 
gives  far  less,  not  because  of  callous  indifference,  but 
from  lack  of  comprehension.  "How  many  are  dying  a 
day?"  is  asked  with  no  realization  of  the  agonies  that 
a  starving  people  undergoes.  Nature  fights  against 
death.  The  battle  between  man  and  famine,  allied  with 
disease,  is  one  of  slow  and  horrible  torture  to  man,  the 
wretched  victim.  Only  those  who  have  witnessed  it  can 
understand  it.  On  the  other  hand,  a  frightful  earth- 
quake is  far  more  dramatic.  There  is  something  awful 
and  appalling  in  these  sudden  tragedies  of  nature  that 
appeals  strongly  to  our  generosity.  'After  that  in  south- 
ern Italy  within  a  few  days  a  million  dollars  was 
received. 

An  interesting  table  was  later  compiled  analyzing  the 


212          UNDER  THE  RED  CROSS  FLAG 

sources  of  this  contribution  in  the  number  of  mills  given 
per  capita  by  different  States.  California  easily  took 
the  lead,  giving  over  thirteen  cents  per  capita.  The 
District  of  Columbia  came  next,  with  nearly  six  cents 
per  capita.  Rhode  Island,  Nevada,  New  York  and  Con- 
necticut followed  in  the  order  named.  There  was  a  long 
drop  then  to  the  other  States.  In  justice  to  some  of  them 
it  may  be  assumed  that  contributions  were  sent  through 
other  channels,  but  of  these  there  is  no  available  record. 
As  the  American  Red  Cross  is  the  only  national  relief 
organization  required  by  law  to  make  annually  a  detailed 
report  to  Congress,  after  its  accounts  are  audited  by  the 
War  Department,  which  report  is  printed  as  a  public 
document,  it  is  the  only  one  by  means  of  which  perma- 
nent and  official  records  of  American  generosity  in  relief 
work  are  preserved. 

Contributions  by  States  were  also  given  in  the  report 
upon  the  Ohio  flood  relief  in  1913.  In  the  list  of  these 
contributions,  not  including  funds  donated  directly 
within  the  states  affected,  the  District  of  Columbia, 
which  stood  second  in  the  Italian  relief,  took  the  lead  in 
its  per  capita  donations,  Massachusetts  being  a  close 
second.  It  is  possible  that  the  excellent  record  made  by 
the  District  of  Columbia  is  due  to  the  fact  that  in  Wash- 
ington all  relief  contributions  are  sent  through  the 
single  channel  of  the  Red  Cross. 

The  largest  relief  contribution  received  from  a  single 
individual  came  from  Mr.  Adolphus  Busch,  of  St.  Louis, 
for  a  hundred  thousand  dollars,  and  thereby  hangs  a 
little  story.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Busch  were  in  San  Francisco 
at  the  time  of  the  fire  and  earthquake  in  1906  and  es- 
caped all  injury.  On  their  return  home  Mr.  Busch 
expressed  a  desire  to  make  a  donation  for  relief  as  a 
thank  offering.  He  telegraphed  to  Mr.  Taft  asking  to 
whom  it  should  be  sent,  and  received  the  reply,  "To  the 
American  Red  Cross."  At  the  time  of  the  Italian  earth- 
quake a  generous  gift  of  twenty-five  thousand  dollars 


STORIES  OF  THE  CONTRIBUTIONS          213 

came  from  the  same  source.  From  an  appropriation 
made  by  the  New  York  Legislature  for  San  Francisco  one 
hundred  thousand  dollars  was  sent  to  the  Red  Cross, 
and  the  two  hundred  and  fifty  thousand  dollars  appro- 
priated by  the  Ohio  Legislature  for  the  flood  relief  in  that 
State  was  also  entrusted  to  Red  Cross  administration. 

But  beside  these  generous  contributions  of  State  legis- 
latures and  men  and  women  of  wealth,  lie  the  gifts  of  the 
thousands  who  of  their  little  give  with  equal  sympathy 
and  even  more  self-sacrifice.  For  Italy  one  morning  the 
same  mail  brought  a  ten  thousand  dollar  check  from  a 
man  well  known  for  both  his  wealth  and  his  philan- 
thropy, and  another  from  a  little  colored  mission  church 
for  $2.89.  Not  only  from  the  churches,  but  from  the 
Sunday  schools,  does  money  come.  The  children,  many 
of  them  Mexicans,  of  a  little  day  school  at  Old  Glory, 
with  no  pennies  to  give,  more  than  once  made  small 
articles  to  sell  for  the  Red  Cross.  Here  and  there  a 
young  boy  struggles  with  a  letter  that  carries  his  contribu- 
tion even  when  that  means  a  sacrifice  of  many  a  pleas- 
ant plan.  One  such  wrote,  "My  name  is  Sidney.  I  am 
eight  years  old  and  I  send  you  twenty-five  cents  for  some 
poor  boy  in  the  floods.  My  brother,  Donald,  who  is  three 
years  old,  sends  you  ten  cents. ' '  There  was  a  strong  sus- 
picion at  Red  Cross  headquartes  that  Baby  Donald  was 
"held  up"  for  that  ten  cents,  as  a  three-year-old's  com- 
prehension of  flood  suffering  is  not  apt  to  be  exceedingly 
vivid. 

Ever  since  the  Italian  earthquake  an  Italian  sailor, 
who  was  for  some  time  in  the  United  States  Navy,  has  in 
simple  ways  and  touching  words  of  broken  English 
poured  out  his  gratitude  to  the  American  Red  Cross,  by 
a  gift  of  embroidery  of  eagles,  flags,  and  emblems  such 
as  sailors  make,  or  a  lily  brought  to  the  office  at  Easter 
time;  and  once  it  was  a  plaster  reproduction  of  Thor- 
waldsen's  "Night  and  Morning.'*  When  the  European 
war  broke  out,  and  before  even  Italy  was  involved,  he 


214         UNDER  THE  BED  CROSS  FLAG 

came  to  say  that  he  had  a  few  hundred  dollars  in  a  bank 
and  as  long  as  the  war  lasted  the  interest  on  his  little 
savings  were  to  go  to  the  Bed  Cross.  He  asked  to  have 
the  bank  arrange  to  pay  it  directly  to  the  organization, 
for  he  thought,  though  he  received  only  two  per  cent, 
interest,  the  bank  would  pay  three  for  the  Bed  Cross. 

During  one  of  the  Chinese  famines  there  was  received 
one  day  a  contribution  that  conveyed,  perhaps  as  none 
other  had,  the  wonderful  breadth  of  Bed  Cross  relation- 
ship. A  poor  Bussian  Jewess,  an  emigrant,  in  an  illiter- 
ate letter  from  Chicago,  explained  that  her  mother  had 
told  her  children  how  she  had  suffered  from  famine  in 
Bussia.  The  writer  continued  that  the  Jews  fasting 
for  one  day  knew  what  it  meant  to  feel  hungry,  but  real- 
ized on  the  morrow  they  could  have  food;  but  that  the 
poor  Chinese  must  go  without  bread  on  the  morrow,  and 
on  many  other  days.  So  she  sent  five  dollars  to  the  Bed 
Cross  for  the  suffering  people.  Think  of  it,  a  poor  Bus- 
sian Jewess  working  woman  sending  from  her  scanty 
earnings  to  the  Bed  Cross  for  the  starving  people  of 
China! 

"Cast  thy  bread  upon  the  water  and  thou  shalt  find 
it  after  many  days,"  is  an  old  saying  that  comes  very 
true  in  some  of  the  gifts  of  gratitude  the  Bed  Cross 
receives.  One  of  the  Irish  refugees  of  the  Belief  Home 
built  by  the  Bed  Cross  at  San  Francisco  is  given  a  little 
pay  for  some  simple  labor  he  does  about  the  place.  His 
letter  is  typical  of  a  warm  Irish  heart.  "Inclosed  find 
five  dollars.  It  is  with  tears  in  my  eyes  for  the  distress 
of  those  people  in  Indiana  and  Ohio,  who  probably  con- 
tributed to  aid  us  in  our  distress  in  1906,  that  I  have 
donated  this  little  money  to  them.  It  is  my  last  month's 
pay,  received  for,  I  presume,  my  labor.  Being  treated 
well,  and  having  no  need  for  it  now,  I  cheerfully  con- 
tribute it." 

From  Monongah,  "West  Virginia,  another  letter  tells 
the  story  of  the  miner's  gratitude:  "We  have  felt 


THE  SPIRIT  OF  RECIPROCITY  215 

greatly  indebted  to  these  United  States  as  well  as  the 
Bed  Cross  for  the  kindness  and  contributions  in  our  dis- 
aster of  December  6,  1907,  and  wish  to  assure  you  that 
we  have  not  forgotten  and  still  hold  the  Red  Cross  in 
high  esteem  and  confidence,  and  feel  satisfied  that  what- 
ever help  is  needed  you  are  the  first  to  administer  to  their 
wants,  and  to  show  in  part  our  appreciation  we,  the  citi- 
zens of  Monongah,  herein  forward  New  York  draft  to  the 
amount  of  two  hundred  and  forty  dollars  and  ask  that 
the  same  be  used  for  the  relief  of  flood  sufferers,  offer- 
ing no  recommendations  as  to  where  it  shall  be  used,  as 
we  realize  from  our  past  experience  that  you  are  in  the 
best  position  to  distribute  funds." 

These  are  but  a  few  of  the  many  incidents  that  might 
be  quoted  to  show  where  the  money  comes  from.  Such 
gifts  as  these  set  the  heart  aglow  and  make  the  Eed  Cross 
work  full  of  inspiration. 

Nor  must  we  forget  the  spirit  of  reciprocity  in  the 
gifts  that  have  been  received  from  other  lands.  The  con- 
tributions of  the  Red  Cross  of  France,  Germany,  Austria 
and  Portugal  for  the  care  of  our  sick  and  wounded 
soldiers  in  the  war  with  Spain  have  already  been  men- 
tioned. The  Japanese  Red  Cross,  though  hardly  recov- 
erd  from  the  'heavy  demands  of  a  great  war,  sent  to  the 
American  Red  Cross  one  hundred  and  forty-six  thousand 
dollars  for  the  relief  of  San  Francisco;  and  after  the 
Ohio  floods  the  Italian  Red  Cross  offered  a  large  contri- 
bution of  supplies  for  the  aid  of  those  suffering  from  ill- 
ness or  injury  because  of  the  disaster. 

One  other  Red  Cross  fund  has  yet  to  be  explained — 
this  is  the  Contingent  Fund.  If  after  relief  work  in  any 
particular  field  is  completed  there  remains  a  balance  of 
money  contributed  for  this  purpose,  such  funds  are 
placed  in  the  Contingent  Fund,  and  never  used  for  ad- 
ministrative purposes,  nor  for  any  other  Red  Cross 
activities  save  those  of  relief.  From  this  fund  the 
Red  Cross  has  drawn  time  and  time  again  when  some 


216         UNDER  THE  RED  CROSS  FLAG 

sudden  call  was  made  upon  it  for  a  limited  amount  of 
aid  that  would  not  justify  a  national  appeal.  After  a 
small  village  or  town  suffers  some  disaster  that  would 
cause  but  little  concern  in  a  large  city,  but  that  is  almost 
overwhelming  to  the  little  community,  a  limited  but 
prompt  appropriation  from  this  fund  is  not  only  of  great 
material  aid,  but  brings  the  necessary  courage  to  take 
up  its  own  burden  of  rehabilitation.  Again  there  are 
times  and  seasons  when  appeals  for  disasters  in  foreign 
lands  do  not  seem  opportune;  but  a  gift  from  the  Con- 
tingent Fund  shows  our  sympathetic  interest  and  good 
will.  Since  Mexico  has  suffered  from  continuous  internal 
strife  there  have  been  many  calls  upon  this  fund,  either 
to  aid  American  refugees,  injured  and  sick,  or  to  care  for 
the  Mexican  wounded  that  have  fled  across  our  borders. 
The  Contingent  Fund,  moreover,  enables  the  Red  Cross 
to  meet  the  immediate  needs  in  the  case  of  serious  dis- 
asters before  contributions  are  received.  In  case  the  mis- 
fortune of  war  should  threaten  us  it  is  the  only  reserve 
upon  which  the  organization  can  depend  for  prepara- 
tion for  sick  and  wounded  relief  measures,  as  no  appeal 
can  be  made  until  the  day  war  is  actually  declared.  It 
is  necessarily  a  fluctuating  fund,  and  at  any  time  may 
become  exhausted.  Hence  the  great  importance  of  pro- 
viding an  adequate  Endowment  Fund  for  the  American 
Red  Cross.  Until  its  Endowment  Fund  is  of  sufficient 
size  the  Contingent  Fund  is  the  only  means  the  Red  Cross 
has  to  meet  these  various  needs. 


CHAPTER  XV 

A  RUSSIAN  FLORENCE  NIGHTINGALE.  DISASTER  RELIEF 
NOT  AN  AMERICAN  AMENDMENT.  FAMINE  IN  THE 
VOLGA  VALLEY.  WAR  IN  THE  FAR  EAST.  GIFT  OF 
THE  EMPRESS  MARIE  FEODOROVNA.  JAPANESE 
TRADITIONS  AND  WAR  STORIES.  THE  EXPRESSION 
OF  PATRIOTISM.  THE  HOSPITAL  AT  TOKYO.  A 
SHINTO  CEREMONY.  THE  PEACE  ACTIVITIES.  THE 
EMPRESS  HARU  KO'S  RED  CROSS  POEM. 

RUSSIA'S  Florence  Nightingale  during  the  Crimean 
war  was  the  Grand  Duchess  Helen  Pavlovna,  who  under 
the  leadership  of  the  celebrated  surgeon  Pirogoff  headed 
a  large  body  of  nurses  called  Sisters  of  the  Exaltation. 
Many  of  these  women  displayed  remarkable  courage,  ven- 
turing out  under  fire  to  the  field  of  battle  to  rescue  and 
bring  back  the  wounded.  Some  twelve  years  later  a  per- 
manent relief  society  was  formed,  but  it  was  not  until 
1876  that  it  adopted  the  name  of  the  Russian  Red  Cross. 
The  present  Dowager  Empress  Marie  Feodorovna  has 
been  for  many  years  its  patroness,  while  her  sister,  Queen 
Alexandra,  is  the  president  of  the  British  Red  Cross. 

It  has  been  claimed  that  the  American  Red  Cross 
was  the  originator  of  the  idea  that  these  Red  Cross 
societies  should  render  relief  after  serious  disasters,  and 
that  therefore  this  new  field  of  activities  was  called  "the 
American  amendment."  The  fact  is  that  before  the 
American  Red  Cross  even  existed  the  Russian  Red  Cross 
had  advocated  and  carried  on  such  service.  The  aid 
it  gave  for  the  relief  of  sufferers  from  the  serious  famine 
in  the  valley  of  the  Volga  is  typical  of  its  success  in  such 
humanitarian  lines.  Not  only  were  the  starving  to  be 
fed,  but  those  sick  from  scurvy  and  typhoid  to  be  cared 
for  under  many  difficulties.  Different  people,  with  dif- 
ferent languages,  customs  and  religions,  were  involved, 
and  the  Moslem  women  could  be  reached  only  by  women 
217 


218         UNDER  THE  RED  CROSS  FLAG 

doctors.  Among  the  ignorant  peasantry  the  news  of  the 
Red  Cross  spread  fast,  and  wherever  a  relief  column 
advanced  upon  a  village  the  poor  starving  inhabitants 
rushed  out  with  great  rejoicing  to  receive  it.  In  some 
places  private  individuals  had  opened  relief  stations 
which  soon,  either  because  of  exhausted  funds  or  ex- 
hausted enthusiasm,  were  closed  at  the  time  most  needed ; 
and  the  Red  Cross  had  to  go  to  the  rescue.  In  other 
cases  small  communities  received  contributions  far  in 
excess  of  their  needs.  One  little  village  was  sent  thirty 
thousand  dollars  by  a  generous  donor,  which  so  em- 
barrassed the  local  relief  committee  that  the  chairman, 
the  village  priest,  proposed  to  utilize  most  of  it  in  con- 
structing a  new  church.  For  the  traveling  hordes  of 
tattered,  harassed  and  half -starved  men  seeking  work  up 
and  down  the  Volga  River  immense  hostelries  were  con- 
structed. Soup  kitchens  were  opened  in  the  schools,  and 
into  the  little  homes  of  the  hungry  went  the  Red  Cross 
nurses  to  carry  food  and  minister  to  the  sick. 

The  Russian  Red  Cross  has  developed  into  an  exten- 
sive organization,  with  many  departments  for  the  divi- 
sions of  its  work.  In  an  imposing  building  at  Petrograd 
are  found  its  headquarters.  It  owns  and  maintains  a 
number  of  great  hospitals,  where  its  nurses,  formed  into 
different  lay  sisterhoods,  are  trained,  and  which,  in  time 
of  war,  are  utilized  as  reserve  hospitals  for  the  army. 
In  spite  of  royal  patronage,  it  was  not  until  1876  that  its 
invaluable  service  was  appreciated.  In  the  Russo-Turk- 
ish  war,  when  it  at  once  leaped  into  popular  favor,  eight 
million  dollars  were  contributed  for  its  war  relief  work, 
which  enabled  it  to  transport  and  care  for  over  four 
hundred  thousand  sick  and  wounded  men.  The  majority 
of  the  Red  Cross  organizations  are  supported  entirely 
by  voluntary  gifts,  but  the  Russian  Red  Cross  is  an  ex- 
ception to  the  rule,  as  besides  public  contributions  the 
government  aids  it  by  special  taxes  collected  on  theatre 
and  railroad  tickets  and  charges  on  passports.  Generally 


THE  RUSSIAN  RED  CROSS  219 

the  Red  Cross  is  regarded  as  the  instrument  of  the  people 
for  assisting  their  governments  in  time  of  need,  and  for 
this  reason  the  Red  Cross  societies  usually  do  not  seek 
government  support.  The  relationship  of  the  Russian 
Red  Cross  to  the  regular  army  medical  service  is  rather 
that  of  an  independent  organization  than  of  a  medical 
reserve  force.  In  still  another  feature  does  this  associa- 
tion differ  from  most  of  its  sister  societies, — that  is,  in 
the  utilization  near  the  front  of  its  personnel,  even  of  its 
women  nurses,  some  of  whom  were  wounded  during  the 
war  in  Manchuria. 

Russia  through  its  Red  Cross  has  generously  extended 
aid  to  many  other  countries  involved  in  war.  Such  assist- 
ance was  offered  to  the  American  government  during 
our  war  with  Spain,  but  this  was  courteously  declined  as 
it  was  not  necessary.  It  is  interesting  to  find  that  this 
society  gave  aid  to  both  sides  at  the  time  of  the  civil  war 
in  Spain;  and  yet  at  the  Ninth  International  Confer- 
ence, held  at  Washington  in  1912,  when  the  American 
Red  Cross  offered  for  discussion  the  subject  of  Red  Cross 
aid  from  other  countries  in  time  of  internecine  strife, 
Russia  united  with  the  more  important  European  powers 
in  opposing  any  resolution  upon  the  subject.  Humanity 
demands  such  aid,  and  the  discussion  of  the  matter  at 
Washington  may  lead  later  to  some  satisfactory  inter- 
national agreement  regarding  such  assistance. 

During  the  Russo-Japanese  War,  from  the  wonderful 
and  picturesque  old  palace  of  the  Romanoffs  in  the 
Kremlin  to  the  little  hut  of  the  peasant  in  the  Far  East, 
was  carried  on  the  Red  Cross  work.  Piled  to  the  ceil- 
ing in  the  throne-room  and  great  reception  halls  of  the 
palace  were  clothing  and  supplies.  The  Grand  Duchess 
Elizabeth  herself  superintended  the  cutting  out  and  dis- 
tributing of  garments  to  be  made  by  the  women  in  their 
homes.  Russia  was  fighting  thousands  of  miles  from  her 
base  of  supplies.  It  was  not  an  easy  matter  to  get  to  the 
front  or  to  bring  back  the  train  loads  of  sick  and 


220         UNDER  THE  RED  CROSS  FLAG 

wounded.  Without  the  hospital  trains  of  the  Bed  Cross 
many  of  these  men  would  have  perished  in  a  distant 
land,  far  away  from  their  homes  and  families.  Railroad 
service  was  very  limited  in  Manchuria,  so  ponies  were 
equipped  with  large  hampers,  carried  on  either  side,  filled 
with  surgical  supplies  for  transportation  to  the  small 
temporary  hospitals, — or  were  used  to  draw  the  sledge 
ambulances  over  the  cold  Siberian  snows.  Side  by  side 
with  the  Russian  hospitals  in  Manchuria  was  a  most  per- 
fect hospital  given  and  maintained  by  the  German  Red 
Cross.  It  was  an  old  friend  to  the  United  States  Army 
surgeon  at  Harbin,  who  had  known  it  during  the  Boxer 
troubles  in  China.  There  is  a  touch  of  pathos  in  such 
recollections.  Yesterday  nations  were  friends  who  to- 
day are  enemies.  What  new  alignment  will  to-morrow 
bring? 

It  is  doubtful  if  in  any  other  country  the  women  of 
the  royal  family  take  so  active  a  part  in  Red  Cross  work 
as  in  Russia.  The  beautiful  Empress,  with  her  pretty 
daughters,  donning  the  white  cap  and  kerchief  of  the 
nurse,  with  the  Red  Cross,  on  the  arm  or  in  the  Russian 
nurse 's  fashion,  upon  the  breast,  goes  about  the  hospitals 
in  gentle  simplicity,  helping  to  care  for  the  wounded  men. 
Her  heart  torn  with  the  sufferings  of  the  soldiers,  the 
Empress  Marie  Feodorovna  one  day  conceived  the  idea 
of  giving  to  the  International  Red  Cross  Committee  a 
special  endowment  of  fifty  thousand  dollars,  the  income 
of  which  should  be  awarded  to  the  best  inventions  to  miti- 
gate the  suffering  of  the  wounded  in  war.  To  the  in- 
ventors of  a  portable  X-ray  machine,  of  patent  stretchers, 
of  surgeons'  field  sterilizers,  and  other  devices  these 
prizes  were  first  awarded  in  Washington  at  the  confer- 
ence in  1912.  Were  it  not  so  tragic  there  would  be  some- 
thing comical  in  the  way  man  invents  machines  to  kill 
and  injure,  then  uses  his  ingenuity  to  provide  methods  of 
repairing  damages  caused  by  his  own  destructive  genius. 

In  speaking  of  the  Red  Cross  in  Japan,  Mr.  Shoichi 


THE  JAPANESE  RED  CROSS  221 

Omori,  president  of  the  Kioto  branch,  said:  "Whatever 
work  of  philanthropy  and  charity  was  planned  by  the 
Imperial  Government  the  people  lost  no  time  in  sharing 
their  sympathies  with  it.  Though  the  formal  establish- 
ment of  a  Red  Cross  Society  in  Japan  was  effected  after 
the  Meiji  restoration,  its  practical  work  has  been  going 
on  since  the  beginning  of  Japanese  history.  We  con- 
sider this  the  glory  of  our  Empire. ' '  A  study  of  some  of 
the  ancient  royal  edicts  of  Japan  convinces  one  of  the 
truth  of  Mr.  Omori 's  statement.  At  the  very  beginning 
of  the  fourteenth  century  one  of  the  old  emperors  ex- 
pressed his  sympathy  as  father  of  all  the  people  for  those 
"who  are  groaning  in  pain  day  and  night  on  account  of  a 
dangerous  disease, ' '  <and  ordered  that  throughout  the  em- 
pire the  proper  medicines  should  be  distributed  so  that 
they  might  be  relieved  and  restored  to  health  and  peace. 
Another  emperor,  whose  reign  began  two  years  after 
America  was  discovered,  in  a  royal  edict,  said,  "Ever 
since  my  taking  up  the  reins  of  the  Empire  through 
heavenly  appointment  in  order  to  minister  to  the  wants 
of  my  people  my  mind  has  been  filled  with  policies  of 
peace  and  harmony  which  will  finally  bring  about  an  age 
of  great  happiness.  I  am,  however,  lately  informed  of 
the  miserable  conditions  of  my  people  to  which  they  have 
been  reduced  owing  to  the  general  failure  of  crops  in  the 
previous  year  all  over  the  country.  Being  their  ruler 
and  pastor  I  am  very  much  troubled  in  my  mind  as  I 
see  that  so  far  no  measure  of  relief  has  been  taken  for  the 
sick  and  hungry.  My  deep  sympathy  goes  to  the  suffer- 
ing. Let,  therefore,  all  those  famine-stricken  people  that 
may  be  found  throughout  the  Empire  be  looked  after 
carefully  according  to  their  condition  and  have  whatever 
aid  they  are  in  need  of."  When  this  same  emperor, 
Nimmyo,  learned  of  an  earthquake  in  the  province  of 
Idsu  he  sent  a  special  messenger  to  relieve  and  comfort 
the  sufferers.  He  ordered  that  those  whose  houses  had 
been  demolished  should  be  relieved  of  their  land  and  house 


UNDER  THE  RED  CROSS  FLAG 

taxes,  "after  the  local  authorities  have  been  properly 
consulted  with  in  this  matter. "  He  also  ordered  that  the 
public  granary  should  be  opened  for  their  relief  and  the 
ruined  buildings  repaired.  The  broad-minded  attitude 
of  this  emperor  is  shown  in  a  sentence  of  this  edict : ' '  The 
imperial  work  of  benevolence  should  not  make  any  dis- 
crimination whatever ;  whether  a  sufferer  be  a  loyal  sub- 
ject or  an  unruly  outcast,  let  him  equally  be  a  recipient 
of  the  royal  generosity. ' '  Again  and  again  did  the  em- 
perors of  Japan  issue  similar  edicts.  Nor  were  the  rul- 
ers of  this  eastern  kingdom  behind  in  their  humane 
ideas  of  modern  warfare.  About  the  beginning  of  the 
tenth  century  the  Empress  Jingo,  who  personally  took  up 
arms,  in  a  command  issued  to  her  soldiers,  ordered  that 
"no  violence  should  be  allowed,  and  kill  not  those  who 
surrender."  Another  military  order  issued  a  few  cen- 
turies later  provided  that  the  prisoners  should  be  liber- 
ally taken  care  of,  so  that  they  should  not  think  of  their 
own  homes.  And  in  case  of  famine  the  prisoners  were 
to  share  relief,  ' '  for  the  pain  of  starvation  is  felt  equally 
by  us  irrespective  of  social  positions." 

The  famous  lyeyasu  said  to  his  soldiers,  ' '  The  object 
of  a  battle  is  to  disable  the  enemy  by  shooting  him  down, 
not  to  torment  him  needlessly  and  inhumanly.  He  is 
doing  service  to  his  master  as  you  are  to  yours. ' ' 

To  the  Japanese  the  emperor  seems  to  stand  as  a  per- 
sonification of  their  country,  and  about  him  centres  their 
patriotic  devotion.  The  spirit  of  the  Red  Cross  as  ex- 
emplified by  these  old  sovereigns  of  Japan  perhaps  best 
explains  the  wonderful  development  of  this  organization 
in  the  Land  of  the  Rising  Sun,  for  patriotism  comes 
even  before  humanity  in  the  principle  of  the  Japanese 
Red  Cross.  By  means  of  their  Red  Cross  the  Japanese 
may  even  in  time  of  peace  express  his  love  for  his  country. 

It  was  during  the  civil  war  of  1877  that  the  Haku- 
aisha,  or  charitable  association  for  the  care  of  the  sick 
and  wounded,  was  created.  Though  the  insurgents  under 


THE  JAPANESE  RED  CROSS  223 

the  law  were  regarded  as  rebels,  the  emperor,  believing 
that  they  fought  for  what  they  thought  best  for  the 
country,  contributed  to  the  fund  of  this  association, 
which  was  caring  for  the  victims  of  both  armies. 

The  Japanese  government  did  not  become  a  signatory 
power  of  the  Treaty  of  Geneva  until  1884,  when  the  asso- 
ciation changed  its  name  to  that  of  the  Red  Cross  of 
Japan  under  the  patronage  of  the  emperor  and  empress. 
Its  work  is  carried  on  under  the  supervision  of  the  De- 
partments of  the  Imperial  Household,  the  Army  and  the 
Navy.  The  governor  of  every  district  in  Japan  has  ac- 
cepted the  presidency  of  the  local  branch.  Before  the 
days  of  the  Red  Cross  there  existed  in  Japan  a  strong 
prejudice  against  women  of  reputable  character  under- 
taking professional  nursing.  To  overcome  this  preju- 
dice many  of  those  of  the  highest  rank  formed  a  Ladies' 
Volunteer  Nursing  Association  in  connection  with  the 
society,  a  number  of  whom  took  courses  at  the  hospital. 
This  example  immediately  elevated  the  standard  of 
nursing.  To-day  Japan  may  well  be  proud  both  of  the 
character  and  the  professional  ability  of  her  many 
thousand  Red  Cross  nurses,  some  of  whom  are  to-day 
aiding  in  the  care  of  the  sick  and  wounded  of  her  allies 
in  Europe. 

Miss  Mary  Gladwin,  one  of  the  ablest  and  most  ex- 
perienced of  our  American  Red  Cross  nurses,  after  work- 
ing with  the  Japanese  nurses  during  the  Russo-Japanese 
war,  said  of  them :  ' '  We  have  come  into  intimate  contact 
with  the  Red  Cross  nurses  of  Japan,  and  day  by  day  we 
have  learned  to  hold  them  in  ever  higher  honor  and 
regard.  They  have  taught  us  many  valuable  lessons,  and 
we  hope  to  be  better  women  for  the  insight  given  us  into 
their  beautiful,  unselfish  lives  and  their  skilful  devotion 
and  consecration  to  their  work. ' ' 

In  the  summer  of  1905,  at  the  close  of  the  war,  the 
large  Red  Cross  hospital  at  Tokyo,  with  additional  bar- 
rack wards,  was  filled  'With  nearly  fifteen  hundred 


UNDER  THE  RED  CROSS  FLAG 

patients,  when  one  of  the  officers  of  the  American  Red 
.Cross  visited  it.  On  the  left  arms  of  the  neat,  white 
cotton  kimonos  worn  by  the  men  were  little  red  crosses. 
In  each  ward  the  patient  in  the  bed  nearest  the  door  was 
the  officer  of  the  ward  and,  beside  the  Red  Cross,  wore 
on  the  left  breast  of  his  kimono  two  short  bars  of  blue  and 
red  This  officer  gave  in  Japanese  a  command  as  we 
entered  the  room,  and  every  man  who  was  able  to  do  so 
sat  up  at  " attention"  in  his  bed.  Throughout  these  long 
wards  moved  the  gentle  little  nurses  in  their  white 
dresses  and  quaint  mob  caps,  on  the  front  of  each  of  which 
was  again  a  little  red  cross.  A  graduate  nurse  wore  also 
a  star  on  her  collar;  the  head  nurse  of  a  ward  wore 
two  stars;  and  the  superintendent  nurse  three  stars. 
Members  of  the  Ladies'  Volunteer  Nursing  Association 
were  helping  under  the  direction  of  the  regular  nurses, 
and  wore  the  nurse's  dress,  but  without  a  star.  They 
were  rolling  bandages,  reading  to  the  men,  writing  let- 
ters for  them,  and,  in  one  case,  giving  electric  treatment. 
A  glance  at  the  nurses'  own  quarters  was  a  revelation, 
as  to  Japanese  simplicity.  Into  cupboards  along  the 
end  walls  of  each  room  were  stowed  away  the  pillows 
and  the  thickly  wadded  quilts,  to  be  brought  out  at  night 
for  the  nurses'  beds  on  the  matted  floor.  Around  the 
sides  of  the  room  stood  rows  of  little  study  tables  not 
more  than  a  foot  high,  with  piles  of  text-books  covered 
with  a  square  of  brightly  flowered  cotton  cloth,  and  these 
composed  the  only  furniture  of  each  apartment.  It  was 
a  trifle  disconcerting  to  find  one's  self  suddenly  in  the 
presence  of  nearly  two  hundred  of  these  bright-eyed, 
sober-faced  nurses,  expectant  of  a  speech,  and  to  be 
greeted  with  a  low  Japanese  bow  as  the  hands  glide 
quickly  down  the  front  of  the  leg  from  the  waist  to  the 
knee.  It  was  a  pleasure  to  tell  them  that  their  devoted 
and  unselfish  work  was  an  inspiration  to  all  of  us  who 
because  of  patriotism  and  humanity  love  the  Red  Cross. 
Suffering  from  the  dangerous  wounds  he  received 


THE  JAPANESE  RED  CROSS  225 

when  the  Russian  fleet  was  defeated  by  that  under  Admi- 
ral Togo,  Admiral  Rojestvensky  was  nursed  with  the  ten- 
derest  care  by  several  of  the  Japanese  nurses.  On  his 
recovery  he  expressed  the  desire  to  present  to  them  some 
small  gifts  in  token  of  his  gratitude.  He  inquired  of 
the  Japanese  Red  Cross  if  this  would  be  permitted,  and 
received  word  in  reply  that  greatly  as  the  society  appre- 
ciated his  kindly  motive  it  could  not  consent,  as  the 
nurses  had  only  fulfilled  their  honorable  duty,  for  which 
they  should  receive  no  reward. 

On  the  death  of  Florence  Nightingale  a  Shinto  me- 
morial service  was  held  at  the  Red  Cross  hospital  in 
Tokyo.  In  one  of  the  nurses'  class-rooms,  over  the  altar 
was  hung  Miss  Nightingale's  picture.  Addresses  were 
made  by  prominent  men  upon  her  work.  Then  followed 
the  ceremony  according  to  the  Shinto  ritual.  The  spirit 
was  invoked,  the  offerings  made,  and  the  liturgy  read. 
This  over,  the  superintendent  of  the  nurses  en  their  part 
read  a  paper  before  the  spirit ;  after  which  they  all  bowed 
low  in  silent  devotion.  The  ceremony  was  concluded  by 
the  Shinto  priest  performing  what  is  known  as  the  "send- 
ing off  of  the  spirit  ritual. ' '  Of  this  remarkable  tribute 
to  Miss  Nightingale  a  Japanese  article  describing  it  said : 
' '  The  heart  with  which  the  service  was  conducted  by  her 
admirers  in  the  Far  East  must  surely  have  reached  her, 
who  is  now  enjoying  life  eternal  in  another  world." 

After  Port  Arthur  fell  the  Japanese  Red  Cross  fol- 
lowed into  the  city  with  the  supplies  it  had  stored  close 
outside  for  the  benefit  of  several  thousand  Russian 
wounded,  and  immediately  placed  itself  in  friendly 
relationship  with  the  officers  of  the  Russian  Red  Cross 
at  that  place.  This  is  humanity.  But  it  is,  according  to 
the  Japanese,  also  patriotism.  They  argue  if  kindly  con- 
sideration is  given  by  them  to  those  of  the  enemy  who 
fall  into  their  hands,  the  same  will  be  received  by  their 
soldiers  who  may  have  been  made  prisoners. 

The  people  of  Japan  have  shown  much  practical 


226         UNDER  THE  RED  CROSS  FLAG 

sense  in  their  preparations  for  war  itself.  The  Red 
Cross  had  constructed  two  hospital  ships  and  leases 
these  ships  to  regular  steamship  companies  with  the 
provision  that  they  be  returned  to  the  society  on  the 
declaration  of  war.  The  rental  of  these  ships  has  already 
amounted  to  enough  to  reimburse  the  society  for  their 
cost,  and  the  ships  themselves  are  still  available  for  use 
when  needed.  It  seems  as  if  the  Japanese  had  solved  the 
problem  of  how  to  eat  your  cake  and  have  it  still. 

The  society  is  one  of  the  most  active,  not  only  in  time 
of  war,  but  in  the  rendering  of  relief  after  great  disas- 
ters, that  are  not  infrequent  in  these  volcanic  islands. 
During  a  serious  famine  in  the  northern  provinces  for 
which  the  American  Red  Cross  send  contributions,  Baron 
Ozawa,  vice-president  of  the  Japanese  Red  Cross,  in  mak- 
ing a  tour  of  inspection  of  the  famine-stricken  districts, 
went  into  the  huts  of  the  poor  people  and  himself  told 
them  of  the  help  sent  from  America.  Those  who  could 
work  were  provided  with  work  in  the  paddy  fields  or  at 
home  in  the  making  of  straw  or  bamboo  articles  and  fish 
nets,  materials  being  furnished  and  the  products  bought 
at  good  prices.  Luncheons  were  provided  for  the  school- 
children. Special  precautions  were  taken  to  disinfect 
text-books  given  by  the  children  from  the  southern  prov- 
inces, to  prevent  epidemics,  so  liable  to  follow  famine. 
Some  of  the  starving  school-children,  imbued  with  the 
proud  spirit  of  the  Samurai,  would  not  at  first  accept 
the  food,  though  for  more  than  two  days  they  had  eaten 
nothing. 

The  society  has  lately  entered  into  the  campaign 
against  tuberculosis,  and  appropriated  last  year  a  large 
amount  of  money  for  this  work. 

Nowhere  has  the  Red  Cross  had  so  remarkable  a  de- 
velopment as  in  the  Land  of  Nippon.  There  it  has  nearly 
two  million  members  and  an  endowment  fund  of  thirteen 
million  dollars.  Its  annual  meetings  take  place  in  the 
Hibiya  Park,  at  Tokyo,  for  no  building  in  Japan  can 


THE  JAPANESE  RED  CROSS  227 

hold  the  thirty  or  forty  thousand  representatives  who 
are  present.  The  empress  herself  attends  and  makes  a 
short  address  of  welcome  and  of  commendation.  So  deeply 
interested  was  the  late  Empress  Haru-Ko  in  the  Red 
Cross  that  at  the  Ninth  International  Conference  Baron 
Ozawa  announced  she  had  given  to  the  International  Red 
Cross  Committee  a  special  endowment  of  fifty  thousand 
dollars,  the  income  to  be  used  for  the  encouragement  of 
the  activities  of  the  Red  Cross  in  time  of  peace ;  thus  in 
the  East  and  the  West  have  two  empresses  shown  their 
interest  in  Red  Cross  work.  , 

The  society  of  Japan  publishes  occasionally  an  Eng- 
lish report,  and  hovering  about  the  Red  Cross  on  its 
cover,  or  perched  upon  the  arms  of  the  emblem,  is  a  flight 
of  doves  bearing  olive  branches.  This  recalls  a  story 
of  the  war.  After  one  of  the  great  battles  near  Mukden, 
at  the  close  of  the  day,  Major  Charles  Lynch,  United 
States  Army  medical  attache,  stood  on  a  low  hill  with 
a  Japanese  officer.  To  the  east  of  them  stretched  the 
battlefield,  covered  with  the  dead,  the  dying  and  the 
wounded,  among  whom  silently  moved  the  surgeons,  and 
stretcher-bearers  of  the  Red  Cross.  To  the  west  of  them  a 
serene  and  beautiful  sunset  illuminated  the  heavens.  The 
Japanese  officer,  pointing  to  the  eastern  scene,  mur- 
mured in  English  the  single  word,  "War;"  and  then 
turning  to  the  west  said,  "Peace." 

No  better  expression  perhaps  of  the  Red  Cross  prin- 
ciples can  be  found  than  that  embodied  in  a  little  poem 
by  the  Empress  Haro-Ko.  This  was  inscribed  by  her 
own  hand  on  an  exquisite  background  of  gold,  flowered 
over  with  chrysanthemums  and  other  autumnal  plants, 
and  was  presented  to  the  Japanese  Red  Cross. 

Universal  love 

Overflowing  the  boundaries 

Of  the  Empire 

Even  unto  strange  lands 

Marches  onward.    How  glorious  the  age! 


CHAPTER  XVI 

THE  SOCIETIES  OF  GREAT  BRITAIN  AND  HER  COLONIES. 
THE  KNIGHTS  OF  ST.  JOHN  OF  JERUSALEM.  THE 
BOER  WAR,  AN  ACT  OF  PERFIDY.  FROM  BATTLE- 
FIELD TO  BASE  HOSPITAL.  LET  LOOSE  THE  DOGS  OF 
THE  RED  CROSS.  THE  FRENCH  BRANCHES.  ABUSE 
OF  THE  INSIGNIA.  REPORTED  ATROCITIES.  THE 
BELGIAN  RED  CROSS  BEHIND  THE  LINES.  IN  SERBIA 
AND  MONTENEGRO.  ITALY'S  PREPARATIONS. 

UNLIKE  the  continental  nations,  Great  Britain  organ- 
ized no  Red  Cross  after  the  Treaty  of  Geneva  was  adopt- 
ed, but  when  the  horrors  of  the  battles  of  1870  startled 
the  English  public,  ' '  The  National  Red  Cross  Society  for 
Aid  to  the  Sick  and  Wounded  in  War"  was  created,  with 
Queen  Victoria  as  patroness.  As  no  organization  had  ex- 
isted, great  difficulty  was  experienced  in  dealing  with  the 
large  sums  of  money  and  the  vast  amount  of  stores  con- 
tributed. And  yet  Great  Britain  failed  to  learn  the  les- 
son. It  was  only  after  the  report  of  the  International 
Conference  of  Vienna  in  1897  pointed  out  the  dangers 
caused  by  the  absence  of  a  central  Red  Cross  organization 
in  touch  with  military  requirements  that  a  Central  Red 
Cross  Committee  was  created  to  co-ordinate  this  work 
of  the  Society  for  the  Aid  of  the  Sick  and  Wounded  in 
War,  the  St.  John's  Ambulance  Association  and  the 
Army  Nursing  Reserve. 

In  the  Red  Cross  report  published  after  the  Boer 
War,  the  importance  of  organization  in  time  of  peace 
was  emphasized  because  of  this  late  experience.  "The 
lessons  of  the  past  have  shown  that  arrangements  not 
pre-concerted  and  systematized  in  time  of  peace  must 
necessarily  be  imperfect  under  the  sudden  emergencies 
of  war.  Confusion,  overlapping  delay,  and  waste  of 
materials  are  the  inevitable  result." 

It  has  been  asserted  that  in  Great  Britain  it  would 
228 


BRITISH  RED  CROSS  ACTIVITIES       229 

not  be  possible  to  arouse  and  hold  public  interest  to  such 
an  extent  as  to  maintain  a  large  and  active  association 
in  time  of  peace.  The  difficulty  in  England,  if  friendly 
criticism  may  be  permitted,  lies  in  the  narrow  scope  of 
the  British  Red  Cross  field  of  activities.  In  spite  of  the 
opinion  of  intelligent  army  medical  officers,  it  has  limited 
its  sphere  of  action  to  assistance  of  sick  and  wounded  in 
war.  Had  it  included,  as  have  most  of  the  other  societies, 
relief  after  serious  disasters,  both  at  home,  in  its  colonies 
and  abroad,  the  problem  of  maintaining  public  interest 
would  have  proved  not  only  less  difficult  but  the  society, 
through  more  frequent  exercise  of  its  functions,  would 
find  itself  better  fitted  to  cope  promptly  with  war  relief. 

At  the  time  of  the  Ninth  International  Red  Cross 
Conference,  held  at  Washington  in  1912,  Great  Britain 
was  the  only  important  country  whose  society  sent  no 
delegates.  The  British  government  and  the  St.  John's 
Ambulance  Association  were  both  well  represented,  the 
latter  by  Sir  John  Furley,  a  veteran  in  war  relief  work 
who,  though  nearly  80  years  of  age,  has  in  the  present 
war  again  aided  the  Princess  Christian  to  provide  and 
equip  an  hospital  train. 

Canada  has  had  for  some  time  a  well  organized  Red 
Cross  Society,  but  in  the  other  British  possessions  the 
war  relief  has  been  largely  carried  on  by  the  branches 
of  the  St.  John's  Ambulance  Association. 

The  native  princes  of  India  have  shown  a  remarkable 
loyalty  to  Great  Britain  in  the  present  war.  One  of 
them,  the  Maharajah  of  Scindia,  has  given  an  ambulance 
fleet  of  fifty  cars,  with  motorcycles  and  repair  wagons,  at 
a  cost  of  $125,000.  These  are  each  marked  as  his  "Gift 
to  Sick  Soldiers  and  Sailors,  Christmas,  1914."  In  con- 
junction with  Her  Highness  the  Begum  of  Bhopal,  the 
Maharajah  has  also  provided  the  hospital  ship  "Loyalty" 
with  five  hundred  beds.  The  other  gifts  of  this  generous 
Indian  prince  for  relief  amount  to  nearly  two  hundred 
thousand  dollars  additional.  The  Begum,  besides  the 


230         UNDER  THE  RED  CROSS  FLAG 

hospital  ship,  forwarded  through  the  St.  John's  Ambu- 
lance Association  thousands  of  Korans  for  the  Moslem 
soldiers  fighting  with  the  British  army.  Canada,  Aus- 
tralia, New  Zealand,  and  all  the  smaller  British  colonies 
have  done  their  share  in  the  relief  work. 

The  St.  John's  Ambulance  Association,  under  the 
Knights  of  St.  John  of  Jerusalem,  takes  a  very  impor- 
tant part  in  the  Red  Cross  work  of  Great  Britain.  About 
the  year  1130  Jordan  de  Briset  of  Eltham,  in  Kent,  gave 
to  the  Order  of  St.  John  of  Jerusalem  ten  acres  of  ground 
at  Clerkenwell.  There  the  old  Knights  built  their  grand 
priory,  and  to-day  on  the  same  site  are  the  headquarters 
of  the  St.  John's  Ambulance  Association.  The  ancient 
priory,  with  its  choir  and  nave,  cloisters  and  dormi- 
tories, was  burned  by  the  rebels  under  Nat  Tyler  in  1381, 
but  was  later  rebuilt,  the  gate-house,  now  the  headquar- 
ters, in  1509.  After  the  dissolution  of  the  religious  or- 
ders, Henry  VIII  used  the  buildings  partly  for  an  ammu- 
nition store-house  and  partly  for  a  home  for  the  Lady 
Mary.  In  the  early  part  of  the  nineteenth  century  the 
council  of  the  order,  mainly  French  Knights,  who  had 
survived  the  Napoleonic  expulsion  from  Malta,  re-estab- 
lished the  order  in  England.  It  began  its  real  ambulance 
work  during  the  Franco-Prussian  War,  and  since  then 
has  steadily  developed  into  a  great  organization  with 
branches  throughout  the  entire  empire.  A  monument 
at  the  old  priory  was  unveiled  by  King  George,  the  head 
of  the  order,  to  commemorate  seventy  of  the  ambulance 
corps  who  gave  their  lives  for  their  wounded  comrades  in 
the  Boer  and  Chinese  Wars.  Over  five  thousand  of  these 
trained  men  are  now  acting  as  orderlies  at  the  front,  and 
on  the  ships  and  in  home  hospitals. 

During  the  Boer  War  the  British  Red  Cross,  after 
some  delay  spent  in  organizing  its  departments,  did  good 
service  especially  with  its  hospital  ships  and  trains.  The 
first  train  of  any  kind  to  enter  Ladysmith  after  the  siege 
was  the  Princess  Christian's  hospital  train,  and  very 


RED  CROSS  IN  BOER  WAR  231 

welcome  were  those  white  cars  with  their  Red  Cross  in- 
signia. The  diaries  of  the  surgeons  on  these  trains  are 
simple  stories  of  faithful  and  often  heroic  service.  Think- 
ing only  of  the  wounded  men  they  labored  to  secure  sup- 
plies, sometimes  brought  from  a  distance  on.  slow  ox- 
carts, they  worked  often  under  fire,  crossed  half -wrecked 
bridges,  gathered  up  during  cold  nights  the  wounded 
from  the  stations  or  sweltered  all  day  side-tracked  under 
a  pitiless  sun  with  a  temperature  of  105°  in  their  cars. 

' '  Tommy  Atkins, ' '  one  of  them  wrote,  ' '  never  shows 
up  better  than  in  circumstances  like  these.  Often  he  lay 
on  the  bare  floor  tired  out,  hungry  and  cold,  with  clothes 
soaked  and  stiffened  with  blood  that  had  oozed  from 
the  wounds  bound  round  with  puttees  or  whatever  came 
to  hand.  All  night  as  soon  as  they  could  be  moved  the 
Sisters  and  staff  of  our  train  worked,  taking  each  in  turn 
we  strove  to  wash  off  the  stains  and  dirt  of  the  battle- 
field. Yet  never  a  murmur,  only  a  patient  waiting  and 
a  jest  when  his  turn  came,  and  some  there  were  with  bul- 
lets through  the  abdomen  and  knew  the  peril  of  it,  and 
some  with  shattered  arms  and  legs,  or  with  a  bullet 
through  the  chest,  or  with  bandaged  eyes  never  again  to 
see  the  light  of  day.  At  one  stop  we  found  the  men  lying 
on  the  station  floor.  As  we  entered  one  was  being  carr 
ried  out.  His  fighting  days  were  over  and  he  was  going 
to  a  soldier's  grave  on  the  open  veldt.  A  small  lamp 
was  shedding  its  flickering  and  uncertain  shadows  over 
the  bare,  cold-looking  walls,  barely  enough  light  to  see 
what  one  was  doing,  making  things  more  weird  and 
creepy.  A  solemn  silence  only  broken  by  the  undertones 
of  the  stretcher-bearers  as  they  carried  their  burden 
from  the  far  corner  of  the  room  and  found  it  difficult 
to  avoid  stumbling  over  the  dark  forms  lying  thickly 
spread  on  the  floor,  seemed  in  strange  sympathy  with 
what  was  going  on  in  the  room,  and  the  still  moonlit 
veldt.  Now  and  then  a  moan  would  come  from  one  of 
the  dark  forms  wrapped  in  a  blanket  or  overcoat,  or  a 


232         UNDER  THE  RED  CROSS  FLAG 

cry  for  water  escaped.  As  we  stood  for  a  moment  and 
looked  on  we  could  not  help  wishing  those  at  home  could 
see  this  other  side  to  the  picture  of  war,  grim  and  real  and 
shorn  of  all  pomp  and  circumstance. ' ' 

In  noting  in  reports  the  aid  given  during  the  Boer 
War  by  the  Red  Cross  of  other  countries,  the  American 
Red  Cross  becomes  conspicuous  by  its  absence.  Ameri- 
cans as  individuals  gave  generously,  notably  for  the 
equipment  and  support  of  the  hospital  ship  ' '  Maine, ' '  but 
nothing  is  said  of  any  assistance  from  our  society  because 
none  was  given.  A  bit  of  unwritten  history  may  here  be 
told.  A  company  of  thirty  men  from  Chicago  appealed 
to  the  then  president  of  the  American  Red  Cross  to  be 
sent  as  representatives  to  aid  the  Boer  wounded.  These 
men,  without  being  carefully  investigated,  were  given 
the  Red  Cross  flag  and  a  letter  of  introduction.  On  these 
credentials  they  were  courteously  permitted  to  pass 
through  the  British  lines  in  South  Africa.  As  soon  as 
they  reached  the  Boer  troops  they  threw  down  their 
brassards,  took  up  guns  and  joined  the  fighting  forces. 

During  the  last  few  years  the  British  Red  Cross  has 
actively  engaged  in  the  organization  and  training  of 
territorial  detachments  of  men  and  women  for  hospital 
work.  These  detachments  intended  for  service  at  home 
have  equipped  hospitals,  assisted  in  nursing,  aided  Bel- 
gian refugees,  and  collected  supplies.  The  immense  sup- 
ply depot  of  the  British  Red  Cross  has  been  under  the 
able  management  of  St.  William  Garstin,  chairman  of 
the  English  directors  of  the  Suez  Canal. 

From  battlefield  to  base  hospital  is  a  weary  journey. 
A  sudden  dash  from  the  trenches  to  drive  the  enemy 
from  his,  and  the  soldier  falls  with  a  shattered  leg  from 
a  shrapnel  shot.  His  comrades  are  forced  in  sudden  re- 
treat to  desert  him,  and  for  hours  a  constant  fusillade 
continues.  On  every  side  of  him  thunder  the  guns,  over 
his  head  fly  the  screaming  missiles,  while  on  one  side  of 
him  lies  a  dead  man  and  on  the  other  one  whose  life  is 


FROM  BATTLEFIELD  TO  HOSPITAL     233 

slowly  ebbing  away,  with  the  blood  of  an  unstaunched 
wound.  Parched  with  thirst,  burning  with  fever,  tor- 
tured with  pain,  he  lies  helpless  and  in  agony  during 
these  cruel,  interminable  hours.  It  may  not  be  until  the 
morrow  that,  by  mutual  agreement  and  under  the  Red 
Cross  flag,  a  band  of  medical  officers  and  stretcher-bear- 
ers moves  quickly  over  the  field.  A  surgeon  stoops  to 
examine  him,  notes  his  dangerous  condition,  and  tags 
him  for  immediate  care.  Lifting  him  tenderly  as  the 
stretcher-bearers  may,  it  is  with  a  white  face  and  sup- 
pressed groan  that  they  carry  him  behind  some  low 
promontory  to  the  first  dressing  station;  there  a  tem- 
porary splint  is  placed  about  the  poor  mutilated  limb, 
and  with  three  others  into  the  ambulance  he  is  lifted; 
many  there  are  who  must  be  cared  for  and  hastily  hur- 
ried to  the  clearing  hospital.  A  moment  of  consultation 
by  the  surgeons,  a  decision  that  he  can  stand  the  journey 
to  the  base  hospital  without  an  operation,  and  on  he 
goes.  The  field  hospital  must  be  kept  as  clear  as  pos- 
sible for  the  sudden  needs  of  a  great  battle.  Into  the 
ambulance  again  he  is  lifted  and  transported  to  the  hos- 
pital train.  There  in  tiers  one  above  the  other  lie  the 
wounded.  Will  the  long  day  never  come  to  an  end  as 
train  by  train  of  reinforcing  soldiers  or  necessary  ammu- 
nition are  rushed  to  the  front  while  the  hospital  train 
with  its  pitiful  and  useless  freight  is  side-tracked  for  the 
needs  of  the  fighting  army.  The  base  hospital  is  reached 
at  last  where  the  gentle  care  of  the  nurse  helps  him  bear 
the  serious  operation  that  leaves  him,  young  and  loving 
life,  a  cripple  for  the  years  to  come. 

That  ambulance  drivers  require  not  a  little  courage  is 
shown  by  a  letter  from  one  of  the  drivers. 

' '  Five  cars  were  required  urgently  at  a  dressing  sta- 
tion immediately  behind  our  lines.  Our  section  was  told 
off.  for  the  work.  Before  starting  the  leader  asked  if 
there  were  any  present  who  would  rather  not  go,  but 
we  all  said  we  would  see  it  through.  So  off  we  went,  the 


234    UNDER  THE  RED  CROSS  FLAG 

leading  car  having  a  guide  on  board.  "We  ran  along  the 
main  road  until  we  were  within  a  quarter  of  a  mile  of  our 
trenches,  then  we  turned  off  and  ran  along  behind  them. 
A  rapid  fusilade  was  going  on  all  the  time.  The  driver 
of  the  front  car  waved  to  us  behind  to  put  on  speed,  at 
the  same  time  doing  so  himself.  I  crouched  down  be- 
hind the  wheel,  and  told  my  orderly  to  be  ready  to  grab 
it  'should  anything  happen.'  The  speed  increased 
rapidly,  and  the  body  swayed  in  a  dangerous  manner  as 
I  executed  a  quick  swerve  to  avoid  a  dead  horse  in  the 
road.  On  we  rushed ;  over  a  bridge,  which  I  noticed  was 
mined,  and  a  party  of  sappers  were  ready  to  blow  it  up 
instantly  if  required.  A  few  bullets  shrieked  by,  but 
none  came  very  near  to  my  car.  We  reached  our  destina- 
tion— a  road-side  cottage,  occupied  by  a  medical  officer 
and  a  few  orderlies.  I  stopped  outside  for  a  moment,  and 
the  officer  came  out  to  speak  to  me.  '  You  had  better  take 
cover  behind  those  buildings  until  I  am  ready  with 
your  load, '  he  said.  At  that  moment  there  was  an  appal- 
ling crash  and  a  shell  screamed  by  over  our  heads.  I 
gave  a  sudden  start.  'Er — er — yes,  sir;  I  think  I  had,'  I 
said.  He  laughed  and  returned  inside.  My  discom- 
fiture amused  him.  I  lost  no  time  in  acting  on  his  advice. 

"About  two  hundred  yards  in  front  were  our 
trenches ;  I  could  see  the  men  in  them,  sitting  round  their 
braziers,  while  others  crouched  at  the  loopholes.  Be- 
hind, our  heavy  artillery  was  shelling  a  German  position 
about  a  quarter  of  a  mile  away.  The  reports  were  ter- 
rific; after  each  report  we  heard  a  shell  pass  over- 
head, and  then  saw  it  burst  immediately  above  the 
German  position. 

"They  hailed  me  from  the  dressing  station,  and  I 
lost  no  time  in  running  up  to  it.  It  was  an  ordinary 
peasant's  cottage.  On  the  floor  lay  the  wounded;  the 
doctor  had  just  dressed  their  wounds  as  well  as  time 
would  permit.  With  the  sharp  reports  of  the  rifles  in 
front,  the  thunder  of  the  artillery  behind,  and  the  ex- 


DOGS  OF  THE  RED  CROSS  235 

plosions  of  the  shells  bursting  in  the  distance  going  on  all 
the  time  he  worked  steadily  away  as  though  we  were  in 
some  private  surgery  on  an  exceptionally  busy  day. 

"I  lost  no  time  in  getting  my  van  loaded,  and  having 
waited  for  the  others  under  cover,  we  rushed  back  to 
safety  at  the  same  breakneck  speed  with  which  we  had 
left  it.  The  cars  held  the  road  better  when  loaded.  We 
soon  had  our  patients  safely  in  the  hospital  some  miles 
back.  I  was  not  sorry  when  I  had  finished  the  job. " 

After  a  sharp  engagement,  wounded  men  at  the  field 
of  battle  are  no  longer  enemies.  Two  English  soldiers  lay 
near  each  other,  and  a  few  feet  away  a  German  soldier 
desperately  wounded.  One  of  the  former  sighed  aloud 
for  a  little  water.  Hearing  this  the  German  called 
out  in  a  faint  voice,  "Here,  here."  Thinking  that  he 
asked  for  help,  the  Englishman  who  was  less  severely 
wounded  than  his  comrade,  crawled  painfully  over  to  his 
enemy  to  see  what  help  could  be  given,  but  the  German, 
pointing  to  his  canteen  which  contained  a  little  wine  and 
water,  said,  in  broken  English, ' '  Here,  drink ;  I  die, ' '  and 
dying,  gave  his  last  drop  of  water  to  a  wounded  enemy. 
Death  makes  men  brothers  again.  Barry  Pain  has 
beautifully  expressed  this  thought  in  his  "The  Army  of 
the  Dead:" 

Marching  upon  its  way, 
So  still  and  passionless, 
With  faces  so  serene. 

Nor  any  lust  of  hate 
Now  lingering  in  their  eyes, 
Who  have  fulfilled  their  fate, 
Have  lost  all  enmities. 

Man's  faithful  friend,  the  dog,  proves  in  war  his 
fidelity.  "Whether  or  not  the  idea  of  using  dogs  in  the 
finding  of  wounded  originated  in  England,  I  do  not 
know,  but  dogs  for  this  purpose  have  been  trained  there. 
Collies  were  first  chosen,  but  proved  not  to  be  so  well 
adapted  for  the  long  ranging  necessary,  -as  a  cross  be- 


236    UNDER  THE  RED  CROSS  FLAG 

tween  the  collie  and  the  blood-hound.  These  faithful 
animals  are  trained  to  trace  men  by  the  scent  and  find- 
ing a  wounded  soldier,  stand  by  him  and  bark  until  the 
stretcher-bearers  join  them.  They  are  most  useful  where 
the  ground  is  covered  with  a  low  growth  that  easily  con- 
ceals the  prostrate  forms.  In  Germany  sometime  ago  an 
experiment  was  tried  as  to  their  efficiency.  A  dark 
night  was  selected  and  two  hundred  men  carefully  hid- 
den, five  hundred  stretcher-bearers  were  ordered  out  to 
find  them.  After  two  hours  time  forty  still  were  miss- 
ing. Two  of  the  trained  Red  Cross  dogs  were  let  loose 
and  in  twenty  minutes  every  lost  man  had  been  discov- 
ered by  these  clever  animals  who  wore  about  their  bodies 
a  white  band  on  which  the  Red  Cross  marked  them  for  its 
own.  France  has  a  national  society  of  ambulance  dogs, 
which  trains  them  not  only  to  find  the  wounded,  but  for 
dispatch  carriers  and  for  guard  duties.  A  small  fox 
terrier  of  this  ambulance  service  during  the  battle  of  the 
Marne  trotted  out  again  and  again  from  the  trenches 
where  she  stayed  and  discovered  one  hundred  and  fifty 
men  who  might  otherwise  have  been  lost. 

In  the  titanic  struggle  that  overwhelms  Europe  to- 
day the  French  Red  Cross  has  had  to  bear  a  burden  al- 
most beyond  comprehension.  It  consists  of  three  inde- 
pendent branches  under  one  central  committee,  the 
Society  for  the  Aid  of  the  Military  Wounded,  the  Union 
of  the  Women  of  France,  and  the  Association  of  French 
Women.  If  each  of  these  branches  had  been  placed  in 
charge  of  a  certain  definite  territory,  or  had  been  given 
a  special  department  of  service,  there  would  have  re- 
sulted fewer  complications.  The  war  came  so  suddenly 
and  on  such  a  tremendous  scale  that  only  the  most  per- 
fectly organized  and  centrally  directed  system  could  have 
met  its  immediate  needs.  In  the  earlier  days  certain  of 
our  American  officers  abroad  on  special  duty  motored 
from  Paris  to  the  fighting  lines  in  the  valley  of  the 
Marne.  ' '  We  came  upon  a  village  church, ' '  one  of  them 


Copyright  by  Und 


,-ood  &  Underwood 

A    RED    CROSS    DOG     FINDS    A    WOUNDED    MAN 


ABUSE  OF  THE  INSIGNIA  237 

told  the  story,  "and  covering  all  the  blood-stained  floor 
lay  several  hundred  wounded  men;  two  or  three  ex- 
hausted surgeons,  with  almost  no  supplies,  were  doing 
all  they  could.  There  was  no  food  and  the  pangs  of 
hunger  were  added  to  the  sufferings  from  the  awful 
wounds.  I  have  seen  fighting,  not  a  little  of  it,  but  noth- 
ing so  appalling  as  this.  We  rushed  to  our  motor  and 
brought  back  a  loaf  of  bread  left  from  our  scanty  lunch- 
eon. Breaking  it  into  little  pieces,  we  fed  it  to  the  poor 
fellows.  As  I  stooped  to  give  a  few  crumbs  to  one  des- 
perately wounded  man,  the  doctor  at  my  side  said :  '  Bet- 
ter save  it  for  one  of  the  others ;  he  cannot  live  through 
the  day/  but  I  could  not  keep  from  the  dying  man  the 
morsel  of  food  for  the  sake  of  those  who  had  a  better 
chance  of  living.  We  thought  this  seemed  frightful 
enough,  but  it  was  nothing  to  the  horrors  we  witnessed 
later  in  the  trenches;"  scenes  too  awful  for  the  officer 
who  knew  what  war  is  to  be  willing  to  recall  and  to 
describe. 

When  the  wounded  are  numbered  by  the  tens  of  thou- 
sands, every  village  of  any  size  along  the  line  of  evacu- 
ation becomes  a  hospital  in  itself  filled  up  to  more  than 
its  utmost  capacity.  A  small  town  instructed  to  be  pre- 
pared for  three  thousand  suddenly  finds  itself  over- 
whelmed with  five  thousand.  From  Vierzon  in  the  ear- 
lier days  of  the  war  came  one  day  by  cable  to  the  Am- 
erican Red  Cross  the  appeal,  "twelve  hundred  gravely 
wounded  French  and  Germans,  four  hundred  lying  on 
straw,  only  one  surgeon  (American),  no  trained  nurses, 
no  medicine,  no  food,  wounded  arriving  starved  and 
naked,  no  funds,  have  seen  surgeon  who  is  in  despair 
because  committees  here  can  supply  nothing,  can  you 
cable  money  to  relieve  horrible  situation. ' ' 

"The  enemy  fired  on  the  Bed  Cross  flag,"  was  a 
frequent  accusation  at  the  beginning  of  a  war,  not  so 
often  heard  now.  The  abuse  of  the  insignia  is  as  strictly 
guarded  against  on  one  side  as  on  the  other ;  it  is  sacred 


238         UNDER  THE  RED  CROSS  FLAG 

in  its  protective  power  to  all  of  the  belligerents  alike. 
But  every  nation  in  time  of  peace  should  prevent  by  law 
the  misuse  of  the  emblem,  so  that  men  will  learn  to  un- 
derstand and  respect  the  noble  purpose  for  which  it  was 
selected.  Misuse  in  peace  leads  to  abuse  in  war.  During 
battle  the  first  dressing  station  is  not  permitted  by  the 
commanding  officer  to  show  its  flag  conspicuously,  for 
by  so  doing  information  as  to  the  rear  of  the  army  lines 
is  given;  therefore,  though  the  location  of  the  incon- 
spicuous emblem  may  be  known  by  the  men  of  its  own 
forces  it  is  generally  unseen  by  the  opposing  army  whose 
shells  may  fall  close  to  it  if  not  actually  upon  it.  These 
are  days  when  fighting  is  often  done  at  long  range. 

Again  it  must  be  remembered  that  the  world  is  made 
up  of  the  evil  as  well  as  the  good  and  that  no  nation 
may  lay  claim  to  a  monopoly  of  the  virtuous.  Men  and 
women,  too,  of  the  criminal  classes  have  been  known  to 
trespass  upon  a  battlefield  after  the  fighting  was  over, 
usurping  the  protection  of  the  emblem  that  they  place 
upon  their  arms,  and  while  ostensibly  aiding  the  wound- 
ed, in  reality  rob  them  and  the  dead.  Such  marauders, 
if  caught  in  the  act,  are  shot  on  the  spot  and  sometimes 
this  has  led  to  the  rumors  that  a  Red  Cross  nurse  has 
been  killed.  Killed  and  wounded  some  of  these  nurses 
have  been  because  they  have  come  within  the  danger 
zone,  but  that  this  has  been  done  by  men  conscious  of 
their  noble  mission  is  hard  to  believe.  It  is  true,  how- 
ever, that  no  army  is  free  from  its  share  of  vicious  char- 
acters, who,  given  the  opportunity,  will  commit  any 
crime,  and  war  abounds  in  opportunities  for  crime.  It 
brings  out  in  some  men  the  primitive  brutal  passion, 
that  which  Symonds  calls  "blood  lust."  There  never 
has  been  a  war  of  any  magnitude  and  there  never  will 
be  a  war  when  atrocities  do  not  occur.  These  are  part 
and  parcel  of  war  which  men  back  in  the  peace  and 
happiness  of  their  homes  try  to  blot  from  their  memo- 
ries. The  European  soldier  in  the  Boxer  trouble  who 


THE  FRENCH  RED  CROSS  239 

thrust  his  bayonet  through  the  baby  in  its  mother's 
arms  may  be  at  home  a  kind  and  gentle  father  to  his 
children.  After  the  second  Balkan  war,  official  reports 
were  sent  to  the  American  Red  Cross  claiming,  on  the 
Bulgarian  side,  proof  of  Greek  and  Serbian  atrocities, 
and  from  the  latter  nations'  accusations  of  a  like  nature 
against  their  former  allies,  the  Bulgarians.  It  is  the 
same  old,  old  story  told  of  today's  war  by  every  side, 
and  that  will  be  told  again  and  again  until  wars  cease. 

As  yet,  in  France  professional  trained  nursing  hardly 
exists,  though  a  beginning  has  been  made.  To  make  up 
for  this  deficiency  many  of  the  women  of  France  have 
taken  a  few  weeks'  course  with  hospital  practice  to  fit 
themselves  for  their  country 's  call  in  case  of  war.  They 
give  their  services  and  during  the  Moroccan  campaign 
did  such  excellent  work  that  they  received  high  com- 
mendation from  the  French  military  authorities  who 
at  first  had  been  doubtful  of  the  advisability  of  utilizing 
them. 

We  have  stolen  a  page  from  one  of  the  English  Bed 
Cross  doctor's  diaries  in  South  Africa;  let  us  borrow 
one  from  a  French  Red  Cross  nurse's  letter  written  from 
Casa  Blanca  in  Morocco.  Each  paints  a  picture  of  Eed 
Cross  active  service. 

"On  returning  at  seven  with  Monsieur  de  Valence, 
we  were  distressed  by  the  spectacle  that  met  our  eyes. 
In  the  little  court  at  the  entrance  of  the  hospital,  which 
was  lighted  by  the  clear  white  moon,  litters  rested  against 
the  Moorish  columns,  and  on  each  was  extended  a  silent 
human  form.  In  the  operating  room  lay  one  unfortu- 
nate man  terribly  wounded  in  the  thigh.  Three  doctors 
and  two  nurses  were  dressing  his  wounds.  At  last,  all 
finished,  the  hot  water  bottles  in  place,  and  the  tea  pre- 
pared for  the  sick,  the  doctors  went  to  dinner  and  we 
two  remained  on  duty  for  the  night. 

"While  watching  the  poor  man  so  terribly  wounded, 
we  noticed  that  the  hemorrhage  continued,  and  that  the 


240    UNDER  THE  RED  CROSS  FLAG 

pulse  was  very  feeble.  I  called  our  good  sergeant,  who 
raised  his  head  and  went  for  the  doctor.  It  was  decided 
to  apply  a  ligature.  "What  an  operation !  It  is  a  night- 
mare to  administer  chloroform  under  such  conditions. 
During  the  operation  we  gave  injections  of  serum  and 
caffeine,  but  the  weakness  was  extreme,  so  much  blood 
had  been  lost  on  the  way  to  the  hospital.  The  operation 
finished,  we  again  took  charge  of  our  poor  man,  not 
to  leave  him  until  the  end.  During  the  night  he  was 
greatly  agitated.  Little  by  little  he  became  more  calm, 
and  then,  one  hand  in  mine  and  one  in  Bertha 's,  he  gave 
his  soul  to  God,  his  spirit  gently  taking  flight  as  we 
prayed  for  him.  At  midnight,  while  the  others  were 
asleep,  we  had  him  quietly  carried  to  the  reserve  tent, 
so  that  his  comrades  might  not  see  him  when  they  woke. 
I  shall  never  forget  that  sad  little  procession.  We  moved 
silently  among  the  tents,  bathed  in  the  brilliant  moon- 
light, stars  over  our  heads  and  death  in  the  midst  of  us, 
the  mystery  of  death  that  gives  so  much  pain  and  sor- 
row. How  one  approaches  God  in  despair  before  such  a 
spectacle !  One  does  not  ask  to  know,  nor  to  reflect,  nor 
to  understand — only  to  believe  and  to  hope." 

Did  the  nurse  recall  Goethe's  words,  "Stars  silent 
rest  o'er  us,  Graves  under  us  silent.  We  bid  you  to 
hope." 

After  most  of  Belgium  had  been  occupied  by  the 
German  forces,  the  Belgian  Red  Cross  remained  for  a 
time  inactive,  but  the  Belgian  army,  driven  out  of  its 
own  country,  had  still  need  of  the  Red  Cross.  On  the 
request  of  King  Albert,  General  Melis  and  Doctor  De- 
page  reorganized  its  service  and  established  a  large  hos- 
pital at  La  Panne,  on  the  coast,  in  the  small  northwest 
corner  of  the  country  that  still  remained  unconquered. 
With  it  will  be  always  associated  the  name  of  Madame 
Depage,  who,  returning  from  a  journey  she  had  bravely 
made  alone  to  America  in  its  interests,  gave  her  life  for 


ITALY'S  PREPARATIONS  241 

the  wounded  soldiers  of  Belgium  when  she  was  lost  in 
the  sinking  of  the  Lusitania. 

Serbia  and  Montenegro  both  have  their  Red  Cross 
Societies.  Dr.  Subotitch,  vice-president  of  the  Serbian 
Red  Cross,  gave  to  the  American  Society  after  the  In- 
ternational Conference  at  Washington,  the  quaint, 
bright-colored  embroideries  he  had  brought  as  an  ex- 
hibit of  the  gifts  of  the  Serbian  peasantry  to  their 
society.  Two  wars  in  quick  succession  had  exhausted 
the  supplies  and  resources  of  the  Serbian  Red  Cross. 
At  the  outbreak  of  the  present  war  there  were  only  four 
hundred  doctors  in  a  population  of  four  million  persons, 
and  when  more  than  one  hundred  of  these  perished  from 
typhus  fever,  Serbia  was  in  a  desperate  state  for  med- 
ical personnel,  as  well  as  supplies.  The  little  mountain 
country  of  Montenegro,  with  fifty  thousand  men  under 
arms,  had  for  its  army  and  its  civil  population  a  little 
more  than  a  score  of  physicians.  Under  such  conditions 
as  these,  the  state  of  the  wounded  during  the  earlier 
days  of  the  war  beggars  description.  Without  the  aid 
of  the  Red  Cross,  both  of  allies  and  of  neutrals,  not  only 
would  the  sick  and  wounded  of  these  armies,  without 
care,  have  perished  by  thousands,  but  multitudes  of 
the  civil  population  would  have  also  died. 

For  nine  months  the  shadows  of  war  clouds  hung 
over  Italy,  and  the  mutterings  of  the  storm  gave  her 
warning  to  prepare.  Fortunately  for  her,  she  possesses 
a  most  excellent  Red  Cross  which  has  not  only  proved 
its  efficiency  after  earthquakes  and  volcanic  eruptions, 
but  which  has  maintained  for  years  an  active  and  suc- 
cessful preventive  campaign  against  the  malarial  fever 
of  the  Campagna.  In  the  sulphur  mines  of  Sicily  and  in 
other  parts  of  the  country  first-aid  instructions  have 
also  been  part  of  its  work.  The  society  has  a  large  num- 
ber of  hospital  trains,  each  with  a  personnel  ready  to 
mobilize  the  moment  the  train  is  called  into  active  serv- 
ice. There  is  a  close  affiliation  between  the  society  and 


242         UNDER  THE  RED  CROSS  FLAG 

the  Italian  Government,  some  of  whose  officials  are  mem- 
bers of  its  governing  body.  This  system  of  Italy's  was 
adopted  by  the  American  Red  Cross  at  the  time  of  its 
reorganization  in  1905.  Foreseeing  the  coming  danger, 
the  Italian  Bed  Cross  has  occupied  itself  for  many 
months  in  preparation  and  has  so  far  neither  desired 
nor  required  much  assistance. 

Not  yet  can  the  story  be  told  of  the  immense  labors 
and  the  heroic  devotion  of  the  Bed  Cross  of  Europe  in 
the  present  war.  It  never  can  or  will  be  told  in  full. 
Statistics,  lists  of  institutions,  numbers  of  patients, 
names  of  generous  donors,  will  cover  the  long  pages  of 
many  reports,  but  the  wealth  of  human  stories  that  lies 
back  of  figures,  lists  and  tables  will  never  all  be  gath- 
ered up.  The  true  history  is  too  vast,  too  sad,  too  full 
of  human  sorrow  and  suffering  ever  to  be  written  into 
words. 


CHAPTER  XVII 

WITH  THE  BEST  ORGANIZED  RED  CROSS  IN  GERMANY. 
PREPARATIONS  BY  PEACE  ACTIVITIES.  THE  EM- 
PRESS AUGUSTA  FUND.  SANITARY  COLUMNS.  DE- 
POTS OF  SUPPLIES.  WOMEN'S  UNION  OF  THE 
FATHERLAND.  THE  REICHSTAG  LOANS  ITS  BUILD- 
ING. WAR  SERVICE.  SISTER  DORA'S  LETTER.  THE 
SOCIETIES  OF  THE  DUAL  EMPIRE.  THE  RED  CRES- 
CENT OF  TURKEY. 

ONE  of  the  marked  characteristics  of  the  Teutonic 
race  is  thoroughness,  and  this  characteristic  is  exem- 
plified in  the  German  Red  Cross.  Shortly  after  Henri 
Dunant  wrote  the  "Souvenir  de  Solferino,"  a  French 
reviewer  expressed  the  wish  ''that  all  who  love,  glorify 
and  vaunt  war  could  read  this  book."  This  sentence 
fell  under  the  eye  of  Queen  Augusta  of  Prussia,  who, 
sending  for  Dunant,  said  to  him,  "when  I  read  your 
book  I  was  so  struck  with  it  I  handed  it  to  the  King. 
I  understood  your  idea  at  once.  The  King  returned  the 
book  to  me  after  reading  it,  with  the  observation  that 
we  must  make  it  our  care  to  see  that  this  work  succeeds. ' ' 
The  Red  Prince,  Prince  Frederick  Charles,  Grand  Mas- 
ter of  the  Knights  of  St.  John  of  Jerusalem,  promised 
the  support  of  that  powerful  order.  The  King  of  Sax- 
ony concluded  an  audience  with  Dunant  with,  the  re- 
mark, "Any  nation  that  does  not  join  in  this  work  of 
humanity  deserves  to  be  banned  by  the  public  opinion 
of  Europe."  With  such  royal  support  it  was  natural 
that  Germany  should  accept  the  Red  Cross  idea  and  enter 
into  its  development  with  enthusiasm.  Beginning  work 
in  the  war  of  1866,  the  Franco-Prussian  conflict,  1870, 
found  the  Red  Cross  of  several  German  states  well  or- 
ganized. After  these  States  were  welded  into  the  German 
Empire  a  Central  Committee  of  the  Red  Cross  was  created 
for  direction  and  supervision  of  the  State 'branches. 

243 


244         UNDER  THE  RED  CROSS  FLAG 

At  the  beginning  of  its  existence,  the  Empress  Au- 
gusta, who  took  a  keen  interest  in  its  success,  urged  the 
society  to  carry  on  peace  activities,  believing  thereby  its 
efficiency  would  be  increased.  To  commemorate  her 
devotion  to  the  Red  Cross  the  Empress  Augusta  Fund 
was  created  by  donations  from  the  German  and  other 
societies.  The  income  of  this  fund  has  been  donated  to 
different  societies  for  special  purposes,  but  this  proving 
not  entirely  satisfactory,  the  International  Committee 
asked  for  further  suggestions  regarding  its  use.  The 
American  Red  Cross  proposed  that  the  income  of  the 
fund  be  devoted  to  the  preparation  of  a  comprehensive 
Red  Cross  encyclopedia,  to  be  published  in  German, 
French  and  English,  and  to  be  called  the  Empress 
Augusta  Library,  which  suggestion  met  with  the  ap- 
proval of  the  German  Red  Cross,  and  is  now  under  con- 
sideration by  the  International  Committee. 

No  other  Red  Cross  organization  has  been  so  con- 
stantly active  as  the  German.  All  national  disasters 
from  a  flood,  or  fire,  to  an  epidemic  have  found  it 
ready  and  equipped  for  relief  operations.  But  not  con- 
tent with  these  occasional  duties,  it  has  undertaken  con- 
stant daily  service  of  various  kinds.  For  a  number  of 
years  it  has  carried  on  extensive  anti-tuberculosis  work, 
maintained  numerous  sanitoria,  day  and  night  camps 
and  other  institutions.  At  Hohenlychen  is  a  most  com- 
plete establishment  for  tubercular  children  with  its  open- 
air  classes,  open-air  workrooms  where  the  older  girls 
are  taught  embroidery  by  means  of  which  they  can  later 
support  themselves,  and  the  agricultural  colony  that 
provides  the  boys  with  training  which  will  enable  them 
to  earn  their  livelihood,  at  the  same  time  maintain  their 
health.  Under  the  German  insurance  laws  the  Red 
Cross  cares  for  large  numbers  of  working  men  and 
women  affected  by  tuberculosis,  whose  expenses  are  paid 
by  the  insurance  bureaus.  In  the  suburbs  of  Berlin, 
beside  the  day  camps  and  vacation  colonies,  are  a  thou- 


THE  GERMAN  RED  CROSS  245 

sand  Red  Cross  working  men 's  gardens.  These  are  large 
tracts  of  land  divided  into  small  squares,  each  of  which  is 
allotted  to  a  family  in  which  tuberculosis  has  developed, 
or  whose  members  show  a  tendency  to  this  disease.  Here 
the  families  spend  summer  days  in  the  fresh  air,  culti- 
vating the  tiny  gardens  whose  produce  they  are  permit- 
ted to  keep.  At  the  Charlottenburg  Motherhouse  is  a 
large  corps  of  Red  Cross  visiting  nurses  for  the  benefit 
of  the  sick  poor,  especially  those  suffering  from  tuber- 
culosis. A  special  committee  takes  charge  of  the  family ; 
if  the  illness  of  a  father  or  mother  requires  sanatorium 
treatment,  so  that  no  anxiety  about  the  home  shall  inter- 
fere with  the  cure,  and  still  another  committee  finds  work 
for  the  convalescent  which  is  not  liable  to  reproduce  the 
disease. 

Instructions  in  first-aid,  and  the  organization  of  sani- 
tary columns  have  enabled  the  German  Red  Cross  to  put 
into  active  service  some  eigthy  thousand  trained  men 
for  ambulance,  transportation  and  hospital  duty.  Dur- 
ing time  of  peace  these  men  of  the  industrial  world  have 
been  trained  and  drilled,  the  employers  providing  the 
uniforms.  Summer  Sundays  are  devoted  to  field  exer- 
cises, the  morning  hours  being  given  to  demonstrations 
of  war  relief,  while  in  the  afternoon  the  drama  of  a  rail- 
road wreck  is  enacted,  or  the  stirring  scenes  of  flood 
rescue  and  relief  take  place  in  a  river  city.  The  men 
are  taught  to  improvise  splints,  stretchers  and  other 
useful  apparatus  from  the  common  objects  at  hand,  as 
well  as  the  methods  of  converting  freight  cars  into  hos- 
pital trains.  In  the  entrance  halls  of  large  business 
buildings  and  in  the  rooms  of  manufacturing  plants  ap- 
pear lists  of  those  who  have  received  first-aid  training, 
with  their  locations,  so  that  they  may  be  quickly  sum- 
moned in  case  of  accident.  The  sanitary  column  men 
resident  in  small  villages  are  in  frequent  demand,  for 
they  understand  the  handling  of  infectious  diseases  as 
well  as  first-aid. 


246    UNDER  THE  RED  CROSS  FLAG 

Immense  depots  or  warehouses  are  maintained  by 
the  German  Red  Cross.  These  contain  all  kinds  of  sup- 
plies from  Doeker  portable  barracks  to  the  work  boxes 
of  the  nurses.  Hospital  equipments  are  so  arranged  and 
packed  that  at  a  moment's  notice  a  complete  outfit  filling 
several  cars  can  be  started  to  the  scene  of  need.  One 
of  these  hospitals  with  a  personnel  was  sent  to  Italy 
after  the  earthquake  of  1908  and  another  was  in  active 
service  during  the  Boxer  trouble  in  China,  and  later  in 
Manchuria. 

More  than  seven  hundred  thousand  German  women 
form  a  special  branch  of  the  Red  Cross  under  the  name 
of  the  Women 's  Union  of  the  Fatherland.  These  women 
have  been  actively  engaged  in  providing  hospital  sup- 
plies, warm  clothing  for  the  troops  and  work  for  the 
needy  women.  Last  autumn  each  member  prepared  five 
presents  suitable  for  a  soldier,  making  a  total  of  three 
and  one-half  million  gifts  that  every  man  who  was  fight- 
ing for  the  Fatherland  might  receive  a  Christmas 
present. 

Considering  the  general  welfare  of  the  nation  a 
patriotic  duty  the  home  and  the  child  have  become  the 
particular  charges  of  this  union.  Schools  of  house- 
keeping are  maintained,  girls  are  taught  the  care  of  the 
baby  so  that  they  may  be  prepared  for  the  duties  of 
motherhood.  Infant  welfare,  visiting  nursing  and  other 
institutions  still  further  extend  this  line  of  work.  We 
can  hardly  imagine  Congress  granting  the  use  of  the 
Senate  Chamber  or  the  House  of  Representatives  for 
the  conference  of  any  organization,  and  yet  the  Reichs- 
tag, which  is  quite  as  conservative  a  body,  permits  the 
annual  meeting  of  this  Red  Cross  branch  to  take  place 
within  its  own  particular  sanctum.  The  Empress,  who 
is  at  its  head,  addresses  the  assembly  which  represents 
probably  the  largest  association  of  women  in  the  world 
organized  for  purely  patriotic  and  philanthropic  work. 

At  the  beginning  of  August  last  year  when  the  call 


WAR  SERVICE  247 

to  arms  went  forth  in  Germany,  as  promptly  and  as 
smoothly  as  the  army  itself  the  Bed  Cross  mobilized. 
Every  other  organization  in  the  country  that  desired  to 
aid  was  placed  under  its  direction,  and  the  Government 
instructed  all  contributions  of  money  and  supplies  to 
be  sent  to  it  and  the  knightly  orders. 

The  active  relief  work  is  divided  into  thirteen  dif- 
ferent departments  that  may  be  noted  briefly  as  of  sug- 
gestive value  to  all  Red  Cross  organizations:  1.  Mo- 
bilization for  all  service.  Under  this  department  come 
the  many  hospital  trains  of  the  society;  each  train  con- 
sists of  a  dining  car,  a  kitchen  car,  two  furnace  cars, 
twenty-six  cars  for  eight  patients  each,  an  operating 
car  in  the  centre  of  the  train  and  two  bandage  cars, 
one  at  either  end.  The  staff  is  composed  of  thirty-six 
persons,  including  surgeons,  nurses,  cooks  and  hospital 
orderlies.  The  Bed  Cross  trains  are  classified  by  letter 
and  the  Government  hospital  trains  by  number.  Both 
are  marked  on  the  top  and  sides  with  the  insignia  of  a 
Bed  Cross  on  a  white  ground.  2.  The  male  personnel, 
consisting  of  surgeons,  physicians,  clerks,  sanitary  col- 
umn men  and  male  nurses.  3.  The  supply  depot  service, 
embracing  not  only  the  large  distributing  stations,  but 
the  collecting  depositories  in  the  innumerable  cities, 
towns  and  villages.  4.  The  female  personnel.  This  in- 
cludes three  classes :  first,  the  regular  professional  nurses 
or  sisters,  "schwestern,"  who,  after  a  year's  training 
have  passed  a  State  examination;  second,  the  volunteer 
auxiliary  nurses,  "hilfschwestern,"  who  have  taken  six 
months'  training  and  passed  examinations  and  who 
act  under  the  regular  nurses'  supervision;  and  third, 
the  helpers,  "  hilf erinnen, "  who  after  four  or  six  weeks 
of  instruction  have  passed  an  examination.  These  are 
utilized  only  in  the  home  military  hospitals  under  the 
direction  of  the  trained  nurse.  This  personnel  is  trained 
in  special  Bed  Cross  establishments,  the  value  of  whose 
property  amounts  to  over  four  million,  five  hundred 


248          UNDER  THE  RED  CROSS  FLAG 

thousand  dollars.  Between  five  and  six  thousand  of 
these  women  are  at  present  engaged  in  active  service; 
and  some  have  already  fallen  victims  to  their  devotion. 
One  with  the  western  army  was  killed  by  a  bomb  dropped 
from  an  aeroplane,  and  a  number  have  died  from  typhus 
and  other  fevers.  5.  Propaganda  and  collection  of 
money.  6.  Aid  to  prisoners  of  war,  which  has  developed 
into  a  very  large  department.  7.  Work  assigned  to  the 
Red  Cross  in  Berlin.  8.  Exhibitions  and  fairs  for  the 
purpose  of  raising  funds.  9.  Care  of  convalescent  sol- 
diers, enabling  them  to  obtain  rest  cures  at  different 
resorts.  This  department  also  provides  further  surgi- 
cal aid  for  cripples.  10.  Welfare  work  in  three  groups ; 
(a)  for  tuberculosis  and  epidemics;  (&)  aid  to  mothers 
and  infants;  (c)  assistance  to  families  of  soldiers.  Be- 
sides the  preservation  of  health  and  the  care  of  families 
this  department  looks  out  for  the  education  of  the  chil- 
dren, gives  necessary  legal  advice  and  secures  employ- 
ment for  women.  11.  Aid  to  refugees  whose  homes  were 
destroyed  in  Poland  and  those  from  England,  France, 
Russia  and  Belgium.  12.  Employment  for  men  crippled 
by  war,  including  their  education  for  work  suitable  to 
their  present  condition.  13.  Assistance  for  those  totally 
incapacitated  for  work  and  for  the  widows  and  orphans, 
asylums  for  the  latter  and  special  vocational  training. 

'In  spite  of  all  this  thoroughness,  preparation  and 
system,  the  appalling  demands  of  sudden  war  on  a  gi- 
gantic scale  are  far  beyond  the  abilities  of  even  the  most 
perfectly  organized  association  to  meet  at  first.  A  letter 
from  one  of  the  German  nurses,  Sister  Dora,  tells  us 
something  of  the  early  conditions  of  the  wounded  and 
at  the  same  time  presents  a  picture  of  a  nurse's  duties 
near  the  front  that  would  daunt  most  of  the  sentimental 
women  who  desire  to  be  sent  to  nurse  close  to  the  battle- 
field. 

"Picture  to  yourself  a  railroad  station  smaller  than 
one  of  the  Doeker  barracks.  Here  we. came  and  found 


SISTER  DORA'S  LETTER  249 

six  hundred  and  fifty  wounded.  Some  of  them  lay  in 
the  streets,  some  in  the  fields  and  some  on  the  steps, 
dusty,  hungry  and  poorly  bandaged.  Such  a  pitiful 
sight  as  it  was!  From  the  commanding  officer  of  the 
station  and  other  officials  we  received  a  warm  welcome. 
One  of  them,  Lieutenant  B.,  has  had  to  do  every- 
thing alone,  and  he  was  greatly  relieved  to  know  that 
now  he  could  receive  our  help.  Opposite  the  station 
was  the  entrance  of  a  wonderful  park  with  a  small 
guard-house  and  a  tool-shed,  of  which  we  took  imme- 
diate possession.  In  what  condition  these  were  it  is 
impossible  to  describe.  Mountains  of  dirt  and  rubbish 
we  had  to  clear  out.  The  'Railroad  Station  Cleaning 
Company/  as  I  have  christened  us,  could  now  proceed 
with  full  steam.  In  a  short  time  the  wounded  were 
removed  and  laid  in  some  confusion  in  the  park  drive- 
way. Thank  God,  it  was  beautiful  weather.  The  kettle 
was  placed  on  the  fire,  coffee  made,  bread  and  butter  pre- 
pared, and  within  an  hour  our  patients  had  something 
to  eat  and  drink.  About  two  hundred  were  French. 
The  most  seriously  wounded  remained  at  the  station, 
lying  on  straw,  where  they  had  passed  the  night.  In  the 
evening  those  that  could  be  moved  were  carried  to  a  barn 
and  a  limekiln,  but  were  forced  to  use  the  straw  again 
for  their  beds.  As  to  our  own  quarters  we  had  given 
no  thought.  Lieutenant  B.  kindly  secured  for  us  a 
cattle  car  and  covered  the  floor  with  straw.  About  eleven 
o'clock  we  turned  in  but  because  of  the  cold  we  could 
not  sleep.  Still  this  was  more  comfortable  than  the 
ground  outside. 

"On  Monday  we  found  an  empty  room  in  a  deserted 
house  nearby.  Our  first  move  was  to  obtain  a  tent  large 
enough  for  two  or  three  hundred  wounded.  Unfortu- 
nately it  soon  proved  not  large  enough,  as  the  patients 
increased  day  by  day.  It  is  impossible  to  tell  you  how 
much  there  is  to  do.  We  are  busy  from  morning  until 
night  and  it  is  often  ten  or  eleven  in  the  evening  before 


250         UNDER  THE  RED  CROSS  FLAG 

we  can  think  of  our  supper,  and  then  we  are  too  tired 
to  eat.  We  work  under  great  difficulties.  Nothing  can 
be  bought.  A  requisition  is  made  for  a  pig  or  a  cow,  that 
the  soldiers  kill  for  us,  and  of  which  we  make  soup.  We 
get  vegetables  and  dig  potatoes  in  the  nearby  fields. 
Sister  Beta,  with  the  help  of  a  soldier,  catches  a  cow 
every  morning  and  milks  it.  In  the  fruit  gardens  of 
the  neighborhood  we  shake  down  plums,  apples  and 
pears,  saying  simply,  'for  the  sick/  We  have  to  do  all 
the  washing  and  cleaning  ourselves.  The  coffee  mill 
grinds  all  day  and  at  the  bread  machine  is  always  some 
one  occupied,  for  we  need  two  hundred  loaves  a  day. 
I  do  not  see  how  Sister  Maria  manages  always  to  have 
enough  coffee  and  soup  ready.  It  is  not  easy  to  stand 
all  day  over  the  open  fire.  We  must  carry  pail  after 
pail  of  water  from  across,  first  a  dusty,  and  now  a  muddy 
street.  The  limekiln  is  five  minutes'  walk  away.  This 
did  not  matter  in  good  weather,  but  now  we  have  con- 
stant downpours  of  rain.  It  is  hard  to  protect  our  caps 
and  collars.  We  never  take  off  our  rubbers  and  are 
often  wet  to  the  skin.  In  this  weather  the  poor  wounded 
men  are  arriving,  standing  or  lying  in  open  freight 
cars,  forty  crowded  together,  the  seriously  wounded  on 
straw  on  the  floor.  Rarely  is  a  passenger  car  seen. 

"Now  we  have  a  little  more  time  for  the  serious 
cases.  There  is  a  fearful  amount  to  do  in  dressing 
wounds.  You  can  have  no  idea  of  the  indescribable 
misery.  The  sick  who  at  home  would  be  tenderly  cared 
for,  here  must  be  left  to  hobble  and  limp  about  as  best 
they  can  by  themselves.  Yesterday  Sister  Albertine  and 
I  had  a  case  so  badly  infected  that  we  had  to  work  with 
rubber  gloves.  The  poor  fellow  had  gone  for  eight  days 
without  any  bandages,  and  the  odor  from  the  wounds 
was  overpowering.  Such  cases  occur  every  day.  The 
men  are  so  grateful  at  having  their  wounds  dressed. 
We  must  do  this  independently,  as  the  one  doctor  cannot 


AUSTRIAN  RED  CROSS  251 

take  care  of  all.     You  cannot  imagine  under  what  a 
stress  we  are  living." 

As  Austria  is  a  dual  kingdom  we  naturally  find  there 
two  Red  Cross  societies — that  of  Austria,  with  headquar- 
ters at  Vienna,  and  that  of  Hungary,  with  its  headquar- 
ters in  its  own  building,  at  Budapest.  All  gifts  sent 
from  abroad  to  the  Austrian  Red  Cross  are  equally 
divided  between  the  two  organizations.  Several  Red 
Cross  associations  existed  in  Austria  previous  to  1880, 
which  at  that  time  were  united  under  one  central  com- 
mittee. This  society,  like  the  other  European  societies, 
has  devoted  itself  to  preparation  for  war  relief  in  the 
way  of  trained  personnel,  ambulance  transportation, 
equipment  and  supplies.  It  has  taken  part  in  relief 
operations  after  disasters,  and  sent  a  number  of  its 
kitchen  wagons  to  Italy,  from  which,  at  Catania,  hot 
meals  were  served  every  day  to  twelve  thousand  persons. 
It  has  made  a  specialty  of  relief  during  epidemics  of 
cholera,  smallpox  and  fever,  utilizing  its  portable  bar- 
rack hospitals  for  the  prompt  isolation  of  the  infectious 
diseases.  One  of  its  devices  is  a  double  postcard  by 
means  of  which  the  wounded  are  enabled  to  reply  to 
the  inquiries  from  their  families.  These  foreign  Red 
Cross  societies  are  constantly  receiving  large  gifts  and 
legacies.  A  few  years  ago,  in  appreciation  of  the  old 
Emperor's  interest,  on  his  eightieth  birthday,  one  of 
the  Austrian  Red  Cross  members  made  a  gift  of  sixty- 
six  thousand  dollars  to  the  society,  to  be  called  the  Em- 
peror Franz  Josef  Jubilee  Endowment.  The  estimated 
total  value  of  the  Austrian  Red  Cross  endowment,  mate- 
rials and  supplies,  amounted  before  the  present  war  to 
over  five  million  dollars.  The  Hungarian  Red  Cross 
is  similar  to  that  of  Austria.  It  was  Count  Csekonics, 
president  of  this  society,  who  at  the  Eighth  International 
Conference,  in  London,  in  an  eloquent  speech  proposed 
the  creation  of  the  Florence  Nightingale  Fund,  to  which 


252    UNDER  THE  RED  CROSS  FLAG 

the  Hungarian  Red  Cross  made  the  first  contribution  of 
$1,000. 

The  old  prejudice  against  the  cross  born  of  the  days 
of  the  Crusades  has  made  Turkey  unwilling  to  accept 
this  emblem  as  the  insignia  both  of  its  army  medical 
service  and  its  volunteer  relief  society.  With  the  consent 
of  the  other  signatory  powers  of  the  Treaty  of  Geneva, 
Turkey  has  adopted  as  her  symbol  the  Red  Crescent, 
while  at  the  same  time  promising  to  respect  the  protec- 
tion of  the  Red  Cross. 

This  latter  emblem,  selected  out  of  compliment  to 
Switzerland,  was  first  used  by  the  Canton  of  Schwyz, 
which,  with  Uri  and  Unterwalden,  formed  the  pact  that 
constituted  the  beginning  of  the  Swiss  federation.  The 
White  Cross  on  the  red  ground  may  have  been  intro- 
duced into  Helvetian  heraldry  by  one  of  the  early  Ger- 
man emperors,  who  is  said  to  have  granted  permission 
to  the  men  of  Schwyz  to  carry  a  silver  cross  in  their 
colors  because  of  conspicuous  bravery. 

It  is  not  probable  that  the  crescent  originated  with 
the  Turks,  as  it  is  not  known  to  the  Mohammedans  of 
the  Far  East.  It  was  the  symbol  of  the  city  of  Byzan- 
tium previous  to  the  Moslem  conquest,  and  may  be  found 
on  the  medals  struck  in  the  honor  of  Augustus  Trajan. 
It  was  adopted  by  the  Turks  after  the  overthrow  of  the 
Byzantine  empire  by  Mohammed  II,  and  is  now  accepted 
by  them  as  the  symbol  of  their  creed. 

The  Red  Crescent  Society  was  organized  in  1877  at 
Constantinople.  During  the  war  with  Russia,  though 
in  its  infancy,  it  received  more  than  a  million  dollars  in 
money  and  nearly  half  a  million  additional  for  field 
hospitals  and  supplies.  After  the  Italian  earthquake 
it  contributed  funds  for  relief,  and  contributions  were 
also  sent  to  aid  the  victims  of  the  Armenian  massacres. 
At  the  time  of  the  first  Balkan  war  the  Red  Crescent 
maintained  a  number  of  hospitals,  for  which  some  of  its 


THE  RED  CRESCENT  OF  TURKEY      253 

equipment  and  ambulances  were  purchased  in  America 
with  the  aid  of  the  American  Bed  Cross.  During  the 
cholera  epidemic  the  society  had  a  number  of  the  large 
mosques  thrown  open  for  several  thousand  of  the  vic- 
tims, and  aided  the  pathetic  multitudes  of  refugees 
from  the  invaded  districts  who  fled  to  Constantinople, 
where  they  had  to  be  sheltered  and  fed.  The  society  has 
had  many  difficulties  to  overcome  and  not  the  least 
remarkable  development  it  has  shown  has  been  the  lib- 
erty permitted  Moslem  women  in  its  work. 

The  Balkan  wars,  like  all  wars,  brought  great  suffer- 
ing to  the  innocent  and  helpless  noncombatants.  In 
expressing  to  Dr.  Dodd,  who  had  charge  of  the  relief 
sent  to  some  of  these  poor  Turkish  refugees  by  the 
American  Bed  Cross,  an  old  Moslem  priest  gave  us  a 
new  view  of  our  own  antecedents.  "An  old  Turkish 
hodja  named  Saduk  Effendi  called  to-day  and  said  he 
came  for  the  special  purpose  of  asking  me  to  give  his 
thanks  to  the  people  in  America  who  are  sending  help 
to  the  poor  here.  I  report  his  words  as  nearly  as  I  can : 
'May  the  Lord  of  the  Universe,  the  God  of  all  men  who 
are  all  of  one  family,  look  graciously  upon  those  who 
have  shown  such  love  and  kindness.  The  servants  of 
God  here  will  always  remember  and  rejoice  in  their 
good  deeds.  How  wonderful  that  a  people,  who  were 
savages  only  four  hundred  years  ago,  should  have  awak- 
ened to  such  noble  deeds !  When  shall  we  have  such  an 
awakening!'  " 

No  longer  face  to  face  in  strife,  but  side  by  side  in 
the  relief  of  suffering  humanity  float  the  flags  of  the 
Red  Cross  and  the  Red  Crescent. 


CHAPTER  XVIII 

THE  INTERNATIONAL  RED  CROSS  COMMITTEE.  CON- 
FERENCES. ABUSE  OF  INSIGNIA.  PRISONERS  OF 
WAR.  THE  WOUNDED.  THE  MISSING.  SWITZER- 
LAND'S SERVICE.  INSPECTION  OF  PRISON  CAMPS. 
HOLLAND  AS  A  REFUGE.  WHAT  THE  RED  CROSS 
MEANS  TO  SOME  CHINESE, 

NOT  infrequently  the  expression  "the  International 
Red  Cross"  is  used  as  if  this  were  the  name  of  some 
definite  organization.  A  certain  so-called  nurses'  train- 
ing school  has  advertised  that  it  would  bestow  upon  its 
graduates  the  international  order  of  the  Red  Cross. 
Such  an  order  does  not  exist,  nor  is  there  any  interna- 
tional organization  of  the  Red  Cross  except  the  Inter- 
national Committee  of  Geneva.  Each  country  that  has 
agreed  to  the  Treaty  of  Geneva  organizes  its  society 
according  to  plans  best  adapted  to  its  own  government, 
people,  and  conditions.  These  societies  are  as  inde- 
pendent, one  of  the  other,  as  are  the  nations  to  which 
they  belong,  but  what  is  required  of  each  is  official 
authorization  of  its  own  government  to  enable  it  to 
secure  the  recognition  of  the  governments  of  the  other 
powers.  In  time  of  war  the  belligerent  nations  are  not 
called  upon  to  grant  protection  to  any  volunteer  relief 
association  which  has  not  been  duly  authorized  to  act 
in  this  capacity  by  its  respective  government.  To  pass 
upon  what  constitutes  official  authorization  required  a 
judicial  committee  to  study,  report  upon  the  credentials, 
and  recommend  the  recognition  of  the  societey.  An  In- 
ternational Committee,  composed  of  representatives  of 
many  nations,  would  prove  a  cumbersome  body,  too 
scattered  to  meet  frequently  and  to  act  promptly.  For 
this  reason,  mainly,  it  was  agreed  that  a  committee  of 
nine  Swiss,  residents  of  Geneva,  and  men  of  prominence, 
should  constitute  the  International  Red  Cross  Com- 
254 


CONFERENCES  255 

mittee.  From  1864  until  ids  death  in  1910,  Monsieur 
Gustave  Moynier,  to  whom  so  much  is  due  for  the  origin 
of  the  Bed  Cross,  was  its  president.  Since  then  the 
position  has  been  ably  filled  by  Monsieur  Gustave  Ador. 
After  the  International  Committee  has  approved  of  the 
credentials,  it  notifies  the  Swiss  Government  to  that 
effect.  It  becomes  then  the  duty  of  that  Government  to 
transmit  to  the  governments  of  the  other  signatory 
Powers  such  notification  as  will  establish  the  status  of 
the  society  in  question. 

The  International  Committee  has  also  been  of  inesti- 
mable value  as  a  medium  of  communication  between  the 
societies.  At  its  own  expense  it  issues  special  circulars 
of  general  information  upon  subjects  of  mutual  inter- 
ests and  publishes  a  quarterly  bulletin  in  French,  contain- 
ing reports  upon  the  activities  of  the  various  associations. 

Every  five  years  there  is  held  an  International  Bed 
Cross  Conference,  at  which  are  represented  not  only  the 
societies,  but  the  governments  and  the  Knightly  Orders 
of  St.  John  of  Jerusalem  and  of  Malta.  These  confer- 
ences have  been  held  in  a  number  of  different  capitals, 
the  departments  of  foreign  affairs  extending  the  gov- 
ernment's invitations  and  those  of  the  society  being  sent 
out  by  the  International  Committee.  Occasionally  the 
holding  of  the  conferences  have  been  interfered  with 
because  of  a  state  of  war,  but  the  majority  of  them  have 
taken  place  at  the  appointed  time ;  that  of  1902  was  held 
at  Petrograd;  in  1907  the  Eighth  Conference  met  in 
London,  and  in  1912  the  first  conference  to  take  place 
outside  of  Europe  accepted  the  invitation  of  the  Amer- 
ican Bed  Cross  and  assembled  at  Washington.  At  these 
conferences  there  are  discussed  questions  of  interna- 
tional diplomatic  importance,  such  as  whether  or  not 
societies  of  neutral  countries  should  be  permitted  to 
render  aid  to  noncombatants  in  besieged  places,  matters 
pertaining  to  the  establishment  of  bureaus  of  prisoners, 
regulations  concerning  Bed  Cross  duties  in  naval  war- 


256         UNDER  THE  RED  CROSS  FLAG 

fare,  legislation  for  the  protection  of  the  insignia,  and 
kindred  subjects.  On  the  other  hand  there  are  also  dis- 
cussed such  practical  matters  as  the  establishment  of 
depots  of  supplies,  methods  of  transportation,  evacua- 
tion of  wounded,  training  of  Red  Cross  nurses,  reports 
on  war  and  peace  activities  with  the  lessons  to  be  drawn 
therefrom,  and  the  utilization  of  the  income  of  special 
funds.  In  connection  with  these  conference  exhibitions 
are  held  illustrative  of  Red  Cross  work,  and  also  of 
articles  entered  for  competition  for  the  Empress  Marie 
Feodorovna  prizes.  At  the  London  conference  Pro- 
fessor Louis  Renault,  a  well  known  French  authority  on 
international  law,  emphasized  the  importance  of  legis- 
lation in  each  country  for  the  protection  of  the  insignia 
of  the  Red  Cross.  After  quoting  a  paragraph  of  the 
treaty,  he  followed  with  a  vigorous  appeal  to  all  nations 
to  carry  out  by  legislation  their  obligations.  "In  Arti- 
cle 23  is  stated  a  very  clear  principle,  'the  emblem  of 
the  Red  Cross  on  a  white  ground  and  the  words  "Red 
Cross"  or  "Geneva  Cross"  can  only  be  used  whether 
in  time  of  peace  or  war  to  protect  or  designate  sanitary 
formations  and  establishments,  the  personnel  and  mate- 
rial protected  by  the  convention.'  Herein  is  expressed 
a  positive  international  duty.  The  emblem  consecrated 
by  the  Convention  of  1864,  by  the  glorious  service  it 
has  since  rendered,  cannot  be  turned  aside  from  its  hu- 
manitarian instincts.  It  will  be  respected  only  if  there 
is  no  possible  misuse  in  its  employment.  There  is  in  this 
a  national  interest  of  the  first  importance.  It  is  neces- 
sary in  each  country  to  proceed  to  a  serious  examination 
of  conscience  and  to  a  research  of  legislation  to  see  if 
it  is  or  is  not  sufficient  to  suppress  these  designated 
abuses.  A  solemn  engagement  was  entered  into  at 
Geneva.  It  should  be  kept.  The  honor  and  the  interest 
of  each  country  demanded  it. ' ' 

Professor  Renault  was  right.    We  cannot  expect  to 
see  this  emblem  used  for  trade-marks,  for  advertising, 


PRISONERS  OF  WAR  257 

for  Red  Cross  laundries,  barber  shops,  or  even  for  the 
motors  of  doctors,  and  the  ambulances  of  regular  hos- 
pitals, and  expect  a  soldier  to  understand  and  respect 
its  special,  sacred  purpose  and  protective  powers.  In 
1905  Congress  passed  a  law  prohibiting  within  United 
States  territory  the  use  of  this  insignia  by  any  but  the 
United  States  army  and  navy  medical  services,  and  the 
American  Red  Cross,  under  penalty  of  fine  or  impris- 
onment. Unfortunately,  the  law  was  not  made  retro- 
active, as  it  has  been  made  in  England  and  other  coun- 
tries, and  certain  firms,  before  protection  was  legally 
provided,  disregarded  the  purpose  of  this  sacred  and 
humanitarian  emblem  and  appropriated  it  for  a  trade- 
mark or  for  advertising  purposes.  A  number  of  such 
firms  on  realizing  the  wrong  done  by  such  an  abuse  of 
the  insignia  voluntarily  relinquished  it,  but  others  still 
utilize  the  symbol.  Public  interest  may  by  its  strong 
disapproval  of  this  selfish  abuse  of  the  Red  Cross  em- 
blem, help  to  compel  its  disuse.  The  American  Medical 
Association,  which  employed  the  emblem  as  its  insignia 
previous  to  1905,  upon  its  attention  being  called  to  such 
misuse,  promptly  voted  to  adopt  another  insignia  for 
the  profession.  The  American  Hospital  Association 
also  decided  to  abolish  the  use  of  the  red  cross  upon  hos- 
pital ambulances  and  the  green  cross  has  been  substi- 
tuted. I  have  dwelt  somewhat  at  length  on  this  abuse 
of  the  Red  Cross,  both  because  our  international  honor 
demands  its  protection  and  because  every  misuse  tends 
to  nullify  its  humanitarian  purpose. 

The  idea  of  organizing  some  intermediary  between 
prisoners  of  war  and  their  families  is  not  a  new  one. 
The  first  manifestation  of  its  conception  in  any  definite 
form  was  due  to  Benjamin  Franklin,  who,  in  the  treaty 
of  1785  between  the  United  States  and  Prussia,  foresaw 
the  eventual  creation  of  commissions  charged  with  the 
duty  of  assisting  prisoners  of  war.  During  the  Napo- 
leonic wars  some  generous  women  of  Frankfort  provided 
17 


258         UNDER  THE  RED  CROSS  FLAG 

aid  both  for  the  French  and  German  prisoners.  Later 
Prince  Demidoff,  during  the  Crimean  war,  undertook 
such  aid  and  urged  upon  the  Convention  of  Geneva  its 
consideration.  The  treaty,  however,  embraced  within 
its  provisions  only  such  prisoners  as  were  sick  and 
wounded.  lAt  the  time  of  the  Franco-Prussian  war  a 
prisoners'  international  committee  was  organized  with 
headquarters  at  Basle,  and  later  other  bureaus  at  Lille 
and  Brussels  were  established.  Agitation  in  regard  to 
the  matter  continued  and  a  special  treaty  and  associa- 
tion of  the  Blue  Cross  were  advocated.  Finally,  in  1899, 
the  Convention  of  The  Hague  adopted  a  provision  rec- 
ognizing societies  for  aid  to  prisoners  of  war.  Special 
organizations  for  this  purpose  did  not  appear  prac- 
ticable. Monsieur  du  Payrat,  in  his  report  on  the  sub- 
ject, presented  at  the  Washington  Conference  by  Gen- 
eral Michal,  said  truly,  "The  idea  of  succoring  the 
wounded  may  be  associated  with  victory,  whereas  the 
notion  of  prisoners  is  hardly  inseparable  from  that  of 
defeat,  and  a  nation  does  not  care  to  acknowledge  in 
advance  that  it  may  be  vanquished. ' ' 

The  Red  Cross  societies  have,  therefore,  adopted  this 
additional  duty  of  aiding  the  prisoners  of  war  using  the 
International  Committee  of  Geneva  or  representatives 
of  neutral  societies  as  intermediaries.  It  is  an  important 
fact  that,  during  the  Russo-Japanese  war  the  bureau 
of  prisoners  in  these  two  countries  carried  on  direct 
communications  without  requiring  an  intermediary. 
War  had  broken  all  other  bonds ;  those  of  diplomacy,  of 
commerce  and  of  the  postal  service;  but  one  bond  was 
stronger  than  war  itself — the  bond  of  the  Red  Cross. 
Speaking  at  London  of  what  these  bureaus  accomplished, 
Monsieur  Martens,  a  noted  international  lawyer  and 
head  of  the  Russian  Red  Cross  prisoners'  bureau,  said: 
"As  under  the  Red  Cross  flag  there  can  be  no  bitterness, 
and  that  justice  should  be  rendered  to  all,  I  feel  it  my 
duty  to  inform  this  conference  that  the  states  at  war 


SWITZERLAND'S  SERVICE  259 

gave  all  necessary  aid  in  furnishing  the  desired  infor- 
mation ;  and  a  fact  extraordinary  in  the  annals  of  inter- 
national relations,  in  spite  of  the  conflict  the  relations 
between  the  Red  Cross  of  the  two  countries  at  enmity 
never  ceased  to  be  most  correct  and  amiable  during  the 
entire  war.  The  Red  Cross  exists  in  all  countries  of  the 
world  for  the  unfortunates.  All  these  turn  their  eyes 
to  its  flags,  and  I  believe  if  the  prisoners  of  war  are  not 
wounded  and  sick,  they  are  still  unfortunates  who  have 
fallen  on  the  field  of  honor,  having  been  forced  to  lay 
down  their  arms.  I  believe  that  they  have  the  right  to 
assistance,  to  the  succor,  and  the  sympathy  not  only  of 
their  own  nation  but  of  all  nations,  if  they  carry  their 
arms  worthily." 

The  heartrending  anxiety  undergone  by  the  relatives 
of  soldiers  who  are  wounded  and  prisoners  is  only  partly 
assuaged  by  the  first  clause  of  the  treaty  "that  all  the 
sick  and  wounded  officers  and  men  must  be  respected 
and  cared  for  without  distinction  of  nationality  by  the 
belligerent  in  whose  hands  they  are."  The  lists  of  the 
dead  are  also  to  be  exchanged,  and  nations  may  mutually 
agree  to  restore  the  wounded  on  the  battlefield  or  such 
as  they  do  not  desire  to  retain.  At  present  several  of 
the  countries  have  agreed  to  exchange  prisoners  unfit 
for  further  military  duty,  and  this  is  being  done  through 
neutral  countries.  The  purpose  of  the  prisoners'  bu- 
reaus is  to  exchange  and  give  out  information  and  to 
facilitate  communications  between  prisoners  and  their 
families.  Of  this  work  in  Russia  Monsieur  Martens 
said :  ' '  Is  it  necessary  to  recall  what  tears  were  dried  by 
the  work  of  this  bureau  when  it  was  able  to  give  good 
news  of  the  Russian  prisoners  in  Japan  ?  Is  it  not  super- 
fluous to  demonstrate  further  this  great  humanitarian 
work  which  has  developed  under  the  flag  of  the  Red 
Cross?"  The  treatment  of  prisoners  of  war  marks  the 
national  degree  of  civilization.  The  kindness  and  cour- 
tesy extended  by  Japan  to  the  Russian  prisoners  was  an 


260         UNDER  THE  RED  CROSS  FLAG 

honor  to  the  people  of  Nippon.  It  may  be  recalled  when 
Port  Arthur  fell  that  in  courtesy  to  the  defeated  gar- 
rison, though  the  Russian  flag  was  lowered  the  Japanese 
flag  was  not  raised  until  all  the  garrison  had  left. 

At  Arlington  and  others  of  our  national  cemeteries 
stand  thousands  of  small  square  marble  stones  bearing 
only  a  number,  that  mark  the  graves  of  many  a  brave 
soldier  reported  among  the  missing.  Distant  as  we  are 
from  the  European  conflict,  the  American  Red  Cross 
has  received  letters  and  telegrams  begging  for  its  aid 
in  tracing  some  missing  officer  or  soldier.  It  has  sought 
information  from  the  International  Bureau  at  Geneva 
and  from  the  prisoners'  bureau  of  the  Red  Cross  socie- 
ties. But  in  every  case  save  one  has  come  back  the  mes- 
sage "not  found."  Shoulder  to  shoulder  with  many  of 
their  fallen  comrades,  these  "missing"  may  lie  in  the 
long  trenches,  the  graves  of  the  unknown  dead.  One 
was  found  as  a  prisoner  after  six  months'  search,  alive 
and  well,  in  the  heart  of  Siberia. 

The  Bureau  of  Prisoners  of  the  International  Com- 
mittee of  Geneva  has  made  countless  efforts  to  obtain 
complete  lists  of  all  prisoners.  In  this  it  has  not  always 
been  successful.  If  one  state  doubted  the  good  faith  of 
another  to  the  agreement,  it  immediately  took  steps  to 
retaliate  and  declined  to  report  further.  Reciprocity  of 
kindly  treatment  will  result  as  well  as  reprisals  for 
injustice. 

Switzerland,  who  herself  has  suffered  greatly  from 
the  war,  has  played  a  magnanimous  part  in  this  humani- 
tarian service.  Her  government  has  granted  the  frank- 
ing privilege  to  the  thousands  of  letters  that  go  daily 
through  her  mails  for  the  prison  camps.  Hundreds  of 
willing  volunteers  have  given  their  services  for  the  pos- 
tal work,  and  not  only  letters  but  gifts  and  money  are 
constantly  forwarded.  Helvetia  stands  in  the  form  of 
a  noble  woman  with  one  hand  outstretched  to  a  multi- 
tude of  sad-faced  women  saying,  "Give;  it  is  for  thy 


INSPECTION  OF  PRISON  CAMPS         261 

son,"  and  with  the  other  towards  a  group  of  soldier 
prisoners  with  the  words, ' '  Take ;  it  is  from  thy  mother. ' ' 

Monsieur  Eugster  for  the  International  Committee, 
with  the  Spanish  Ambassador  and  a  representative  of 
the  German  Red  Cross,  inspected  a  large  number  of 
camps  in  Germany,  where  nearly  a  million  French,  Rus- 
sian, Belgian  and  English  prisoners  are  confined.  In 
his  report  he  regrets  that  certain  papers  expressed  dis- 
approval of  his  statements  because  they  did  not  confirm 
untrue  information  or  generalizations  from  an  occasional 
occurrence.  A  prominent  Frenchman  said  "a  neutral 
spectator  of  such  a  war  cannot  see  things  from  the  same 
point  of  view  as  a  belligerent  engaged  in  the  strife," 
and  Monsieur  Eugster  justly  replied,  "if  a  neutral  did, 
he  would  no  longer  be  neutral."  He  was  permitted  to 
go  everywhere  and  to  hold  absolutely  free  intercourse 
with  the  prisoners,  often  entirely  alone,  so  that  they 
might  feel  quite  at  liberty  to  confide  to  him  any  griev- 
ances. The  Germans  have  been  forced  to  limit  bread 
consumption  because  of  the  impossibility  of  importing 
food  supplies.  However,  the  prisoners  were  permitted 
as  large  an  allowance  as  the  people  of  Germany,  and 
though  this  was  done  the  deprivation  was  felt  and  com- 
plained of  by  the  French  soldiers,  many  of  whom  were 
accustomed  to  depend  upon  bread  as  their  main  article 
of  diet.  The  Russians  were  satisfied  both  with  the  quality 
and  the  quantity  of  the  food  supplied.  Beyond  this 
food  question  there  was  little  complaint  made  by  pris- 
oners in  the  German  camps.  The  men  were  encouraged 
to  inaugurate  courses  of  study,  teachers  being  found 
among  their  own  numbers;  concerts  and  theatrical  per- 
formances were  permitted,  and  religious  services  pro- 
vided. 

The  greatest  suffering  in  these  prison  camps  is  due 
to  a  cause  little  realized  by  the  general  public.  In  most 
camps  material  needs  are  sufficiently  well  taken  care 
of,  but  nostalgia,  that  longing  for  country,  for  home 


262         UNDER  THE  RED  CROSS  FLAG 

and  for  family,  particularly  among  men  of  the  untrav- 
eled  class,  produces  a  sense  of  misery  difficult  to  over- 
come. Men  in  armies  distant  from  their  homes,  and  yet 
not  prisoners,  often  become  insane  from  homesickness. 
No  one  can  see  these  prison  camps,  no  matter  how  well 
administered,  where  thousands  are  in  exile,  without 
experiencing  the  emotion  expressed  by  Monsieur  Eug- 
ster:  "Human  destinies,  impressionalist  pictures  of  the 
latest  universal  history,  have  passed  before  my  eyes. 
They  are  engraved  ineffaceably  upon  my  soul.  What 
an  atrocity  is  war!  My  heart  bleeds,  and  from  this 
bleeding  heart  arises  the  question  addressed  to  the  heart 
of  the  noblest  of  these  two  noble  nations,  'How  long 
must  this  appalling  war  endure ! '  ' ' 

Colonel  Marval,  a  medical  officer  of  the  Swiss  army, 
undertook  for  the  International  Committee  a  tour  of 
inspection  of  the  prison  camps  in  France  and  North 
Africa.  He,  too,  was  permitted  to  talk  alone  with  the 
prisoners  and  received  every  courtesy  in  the  fulfilling 
of  his  task.  Colonel  Marval,  like  his  compatriot,  re- 
gretted the  sensational  reports  of  the  press  and  expressed 
the  hope  that  his  statements  would  serve  to  allay  the 
anxieties  of  those  whose  husbands,  brothers  and  sons 
were  prisoners  of  war.  Both  of  these  men  were  actuated 
by  the  determination  to  tell  only  the  full  and  entire 
truth. 

Under  cold,  gray  skies  and  drenching  rains  that 
were  in  keeping  with  his  attitude  of  mind,  for  he,  too, 
felt  the  sadness  of  this  duty  before  him,  Colonel  Marval 
started  on  his  first  mission  to  the  camps  in  Brittany, 
six  in  number.  One  of  these,  for  officers,  was  found  in 
a  chateau,  the  food,  at  a  fixed  price,  being  brought  from 
a  nearby  hotel.  Under  The  Hague  Convention  those 
who  are  prisoners  receive  from  the  government  of  the 
country  in  which  they  are  confined  the  pay  of  their  rank. 
After  the  war  is  over  this  will  be  remitted  by  their  own 
country.  At  Montfort  an  old  convent  served  for  the 


PRISONERS  IN  SIBERIA  263 

prison,  where  the  men  were  fairly  comfortable  and  were 
permitted  every  nine  days  to  go  to  a  nearby  stream  to 
bathe.  At  the  next  camp  the  men  were  first  in  tents, 
but  later  excellent  barracks  were  built.  In  all  these 
prisons,  as  a  rule,  the  prisoners  who  are  tailors,  make 
the  men's  garments  and  the  shoemakers  their  shoes. 
To  deprive  men  in  confinement  of  occupation  and  work 
is  a  cruelty  emphasized  by  a  circular  issued  on  prison- 
ers by  the  International  Committee.  After  an  inspec- 
tion of  the  camps  in  Brittany  those  of  the  islands  were 
next  visited.  Because  of  the  difficulty  of  escape  more 
liberty  was  allowed  to  the  prisoners  here.  Religious 
services  in  their  own  tongue  were  generally  provided  in 
the  camps.  At  one  place  Colonel  Marval  found  a  merry 
group  of  men  arrayed  in  weird  costumes  prepared  for 
a  theatrical  performance.  His  second  tour  of  inspection 
led  him  into  quite  a  different  field, — the  prison  camps 
in  Tunis  and  Algeria.  Some  of  these  were  in  the  old 
Spanish  forts  of  the  seacoast  towns,  others  in  the  bar- 
racks of  the  mountain  districts,  and  still  others  in  tent 
colonies  on  the  oasis  of  the  desert.  The  lodgings  of  the 
men,  the  water,  food,  and  clothing  were  all  examined 
and  noted  in  the  report.  If  vermin  was  discovered  this 
was  mentioned;  what  entertainments  were  permitted; 
what  religious  services  were  provided,  and  if  the  mails 
were  delivered  promptly  were  other  matters  investi- 
gated. Colonel  Marval  reports  that  the  men,  though 
given  every  opportunity  to  speak  frankly,  were  rarely  in- 
clined to  complain;  and  he  found  that  the  camps  were 
well  administered. 

Many  of  the  German  and  Austrian  prisoners  taken 
by  Russians  in  the  early  autumn  of  last  year  were  sent 
to  Siberia  where,  in  some  parts,  the  large  empty  bar- 
racks could  be  utilized.  Unfortunately  having  been 
made  prisoners  during  the  warm  season,  few  of  them 
had  clothing  suitable  to  the  Siberian  winter  climate,  and 
much  suffering  resulted.  An  appeal  for  their  aid  came 


264          UNDER  THE  RED  CROSS  FLAG 

to  the  American  Red  Cross  from  Peking.  Funds  were 
transmitted  immediately  and  hospital  supplies  purchased 
and  forwarded  with  donated  clothing  from  San  Fran- 
cisco. At  the  request  of  our  Red  Cross,  Dr.  Reinsch, 
the  American  Minister  at  Peking,  appointed  special  rep- 
resentatives who  were  permitted  by  the  Russian  author- 
ities to  visit  certain  districts.  The  cause  of  much  of  the 
suffering  was  due  to  the  lack  of  preparation,  and  the 
large  number  of  prisoners  that  were  sent.  The  Russian 
authorities  were  generally  kindly  but  without  supplies 
or  time  to  secure  them  at  the  first.  A  complete  and 
interesting  report  was  sent  to  the  American  Red  Cross 
by  its  representatives.  On  the  journey  to  Irkutsk,  the 
report  says,  "We  passed  many  troop  trains  which  were 
carrying  prisoners.  We  stopped  at  a  station  where  a 
troop  train  had  halted,  and  we  had  an  opportunity  to 
speak  to  the  men,  among  whom  there  were  Germans, 
Austrians,  Hungarians  and  Turks.  They  had  been  cap- 
tured in  November  in  a  wounded  condition,  and  having 
recovered  were  being  sent  to  some  camp  in  the  maritime 
provinces.  They  were  rather  poorly  clad,  in  many  in- 
stances, and  some  looked  sick,  but  on  the  whole  said  they 
were  quite  comfortable."  The  military  authorities  and 
the  Russian  Red  Cross  offered  to  co-operate  in  the  dis- 
tribution of  the  supplies  the  American  Red  Cross  had 
forwarded  for  the  prisoners.  The  report  continues: 
"The  journey  from  the  field  of  battle  to  the  camps  in 
Siberia  is  a  long  one.  The  prisoners  were  transported 
in  the  ordinary  troop  trains  which  are  used  for  the 
Russian  soldiers.  Each  car  has  four  small  windows, 
one  in  each  corner,  and  two  doors,  with  a  stove  in  the 
middle  of  the  car.  At  each  end  of  the  car  are  three 
platforms,  one  above  the  other,  on  which  the  men  slept. 
The  lower  platform  reaches  from  the  doors  to  the  end 
of  the  car.  The  one  above  is  a  little  narrower  and  the 
top  one  is  narrower  still.  The  same  arrangement  is  made 
at  the  other  end  of  the  car.  Each  car  accommodates 


INSPECTION  OF  PRISON  CAMPS         265 

from  thirty  to  thirty-six  men.  We  have  seen  thirty-six 
Russian  soldiers  in  big  boots  and  heavy  sheepskin  coats 
pile  into  such  a  car  with  all  their  luggage.  The  prisoners 
not  having  any  luggage  would  have  a  little  more  room 
in  which  to  move.  The  Russian  soldier  in  sheepskin  and 
felt  boots,  with  the  help  of  the  stove,  manages  to  be  fairly 
comfortable  in  these  cars,  but  with  poorly  clad  men  who 
are  not  accustomed  to  such  a  rigorous  climate  the  results 
have  been  sometimes  serious.  Those  who  are  fortunate 
enough  to  get  upper  berths  manage  to  keep  warm,  but 
those  who  were  below  had  their  legs  and  feet  frostbitten. 
The  Turks  who  had  lately  been  shipped  out  in  large 
numbers  suffered  the  most.  When  the  above  conditions 
are  taken  into  consideration,  most  of  the  suffering  can 
be  explained.  As  far  as  we  could  learn,  very  little 
suffering  is  attributable  to  cruelty  on  the  part  of  the 
Russian  soldiers  or  people.  On  the  whole  they  are  kind- 
hearted  and  friendly." 

The  interned  civilian  prisoners  also  suffered  from 
the  cold  when  they  had  to  walk  any  distance  in  severe 
weather.  The  committee  recommended  that  soap,  water 
and  a  change  of  clothing  be  provided,  so  that  the  men 
could  rid  themselves  of  the  disease-carrying  vermin  that 
threatened  a  serious  epidemic.  The  hospital  service  was 
good  on  the  whole.  Of  the  fifteen  hundred  patients  at 
Irkutsk,  four  hundred  were  Germans. 

The  Russian  Government  has  courteously  consented 
again  to  permit  American  Red  Cross  representatives  to 
visit  the  Siberian  prison  camps,  and  further  funds  and 
supplies  will  be  sent.  The  Russian  Government  has 
asked  the  American  Red  Cross  to  assist  the  Rusian  pris- 
oners in  Germany.  This  will  be  carried  on  with  the 
co-operation  and  aid  of  the  German  Red  Cross. 

The  few  countries  of  Europe  that  had  not  become 
involved  in  this  widespread  conflict  have  been  so  fearful 
of  being  drawn  into  the  vortex  of  strife  that  their  Red 
Cross  societies  have  necessarily  been  limited  in  the  aid 


266         UNDER  THE  RED  CROSS  FLAG 

they  could  offer.  They  have  done  what  they  could, 
notably  the  societies  of  Switzerland  and  Holland;  the 
former  as  we  have  seen,  especially  for  prisoners  of  war 
and  for  the  repatriation  of  refugees  and  wounded.  Hol- 
land has  cared  for  thousands  of  destitute  and  panic- 
stricken  Belgians  who  fled  to  the  refuge  their  kindly  and 
generously  hospitable  neighbor  offered. 

From  South  Africa,  Corea  and  China  the  American 
Red  Cross  has  received  contributions  for  its  war  relief 
fund.  China  has  only  lately  organized  a  Red  Cross, 
and  its  purpose  is  not  fully  understood  by  all  of  her 
people.  The  women  missionaries,  nursing  in  the  hos- 
pital during  the  revolutionary  days  that  marked  the 
change  from  the  monarchy  to  the  republic,  were  fre- 
quently asked  by  the  wounded  men,  "Are  you  not  afraid 
to  be  here?"  The  reply,  "No,  we  are  under  the  Red 
Cross  flag,"  was  heard  with  some  amazement.  When 
an  attack  was  made  upon  a  certain  town  where  there 
was  a  large  mission  school,  the  teachers,  fearing  for  the 
safety  of  the  children,  marched  them  all  to  the  railroad 
station  under  the  Red  Cross  flag,  which  was  respected 
by  the  soldiers  of  both  sides.  Complaint  was  made  by 
some  Americans  that  certain  Chinese  had  asked  to  buy 
the  protection  of  the  Red  Cross  and  that  others  had 
brought  all  their  treasures  and  put  them  in  the  hospitals 
where  the  Red  Cross  flag  floated,  and  which  they  noticed 
were  not  attacked.  Even  this  ignorance  seems  a  won- 
derful homage  to  the  Red  Cross.  In  their  danger  and 
distress  these  people  of  China  turned  to  it  for  protection ; 
a  prophecy  of  the  far  distant  day  when  some  great  flag 
of  federated  nations  and  of  human  brotherhood  may 
bring  to  the  battle-weary  world  universal  peace. 


CHAPTER  XIX 

THE  EUROPEAN  WAR  AND  THE  AMERICAN  RED  CROSS. 
THE  GATHERING  OF  THE  STORM  CLOUDS.  THE  GER- 
MAN DECLARATION  AUGUST  FIRST.  OFFERS  OF  AID 
BY  THE  AMERICAN  RED  CROSS  ON  THE  FIFTH. 
PREPARATIONS.  THE  WHITE  SHIP  OF  MERCY.  THE 
WEARERS  OF  THE  BRASSARD.  LIFE  ON  BOARD.  THE 
QUESTIONING  SEARCHLIGHT.  ARRIVAL  AT  FAL- 
MOUTH.  FUNDS  AND  SUPPLIES. 

IN  the  southeastern  part  of  Europe  lies  the  group 
of  small  countries  that  for  long  has  threatened  the  peace 
of  the  entire  continent.  The  act  of  a  Serbian  fanatic 
in  the  assassination  of  the  heir  to  the  Austrian  throne 
brought  matters  to  a  crisis  and  launched  Europe  into 
the  greatest  and  most  terrible  war  of  history.  For  many 
years  the  thunder  clouds  had  been  gathering,  the  mut- 
terings  of  the  Balkan  wars  had  made  thoughtful  people 
apprehensive,  and  the  flashes  of  suspicion  and  resent- 
ment that  played  like  summer  lightning  across  the  skies, 
gave  warning  of  the  tempest  that  was  soon  to  come. 
The  causes  of  this  mighty  conflict  are  far  deeper  and 
more  complex  than  our  people  generally  understand. 

The  Red  Cross,  it  has  been  said,  is  even  more  blind 
than  justice,  and  amidst  accusations  and  recriminations 
by  word  and  pen,  amidst  the  suffering,  misery  and  death 
of  battlefield  and  devastated  lands,  it  moves  undisturbed 
on  its  merciful  mission.  It  hears  and  heeds  only  the 
pitiful  cry  of  humanity  and  cannot  stop  to  question  why. 

Austria  had  declared  war  on  Serbia  and  Russia  began 
the  mobilization  of  her  armies.  August  first  came  the 
German  declaration  and  France  joined  her  eastern  ally. 
Ere  long  the  onrushing  storm  burst  over  Belgium  and 
England,  too,  and  all  Europe  trembled  in  its  fury. 

Back  to  their  posts  of  duty  there  came  such  of  the 
American  Red  Cross  officers  as,  after  a  busy  year,  were 

267 


268         UNDER  THE  RED  CROSS  FLAG 

seeking  a  little  rest.  A  joint  meeting  of  its  Interna- 
tional and  War  Kelief  Boards  was  held  and  a  decision 
reached  to  offer  to  every  country  the  aid  of  our  trained 
personnel  and  the  contribution  of  hospital  supplies. 
Acting  in  strict  accord  with  the  Treaty  of  Geneva,  this 
offer  was  made  with  the  consent  of  the  United  States 
Government  and  communicated  by  the  State  Depart- 
ment to  the  governments  of  the  belligerent  nations.  By 
all  the  offer  was  accepted,  with  the  exception  of  Bel- 
gium, which  at  that  time  desired  only  supplies  and  did 
not  ask  for  the  personnel  until  in  the  spring  of  1915. 
Japan  later  declined  any  assistance,  as  her  own  great 
Red  Cross  organization  was  able  to  meet  all  demands 
upon  it,  and  Italy,  when  it  entered  into  the  conflict, 
asked  for  only  certain  supplies. 

At  the  request  of  the  Secretary  of  War,  the  services 
of  the  National  Director,  Mr.  Bicknell,  were  loaned  to 
aid  the  Assistant  Secretary  in  his  mission  abroad  for 
the  benefit  of  American  refugees,  and  later  Mr.  Bick- 
nell's  services  were  given  to  the  Rockefeller  Foundation 
for  noncombatant  relief  in  Europe. 

Plans  were  immediately  inaugurated  to  secure  funds 
and  supplies,  and  make  ready  the  personnel.  Day  and 
night  factories  worked  to  provide  absorbent  cotton, 
bandages  and  anaesthetics.  The  sudden  demand  for 
such  articles  came  from  foreign  governments  as  well 
as  the  Red  Cross,  and  with  plants  adapted  only  to  nor- 
mal conditions,  it  was  not  easy  to  fill  the  orders  that 
overwhelmed  the  manufacturers.  The  spirit  of  help- 
fulness that  the  Red  Cross  met  on  every  side  was  its 
greatest  asset.  The  Relief  Board  issued  an  appeal  call- 
ing attention  to  the  contributions  sent  by  the  European 
Red  Cross  societies  during  our  war  with  Spain,  and 
asking  for  a  generous  response  to  enable  our  Red  Cross 
to  do  its  duty.  In  this  appeal  the  people  were  told 
that  "contributions  may  be  designated  by  the  donors 
for  the  aid  of  any  special  country,  and  will  be  used  for 


OFFERS  OF  AID  TO  EUROPEAN  NATIONS  269 

the  country  designated."  Yet,  in  spite  of  this  assur- 
ance, many  persons  persisted  in  asserting  that  those 
desiring  to  aid  a  special  country  could  not  intrust  funds 
and  supplies  to  the  Red  Cross,  which  would  use  con- 
tributions only  for  all.  Every  donation,  whether  in 
money  or  supplies,  designated  for  a  special  country  has 
been  sent  to  the  country  specified.  The  Austrian  Red 
Cross  reported  to  the  American  Ambassador  at  Vienna 
that  one  case  received  by  it  was  intended  for  France  and 
wished  instructions  what  to  do  with  it.  In  handling 
many  thousands  of  cases,  it  is  not  strange  that  a  box 
should  go  astray.  In  this  case  another  box  was  added 
to  the  next  French  shipment  from  the  undesignated 
cases,  to  take  the  place  of  the  one  which  was  sent  to 
Austria  by  mistake. 

President  Wilson,  as  president  of  the  American  Red 
Cross,  added  his  appeal  to  that  of  the  boards.  In  reply 
to  these  appeals  money  soon  began  to  be  received,  not 
as  rapidly,  however,  as  the  funds  that  had  been  sent 
to  the  Red  Cross  in  the  past  for  great  disasters.  For 
this  there  were  various  reasons.  Americans  were  stunned 
by  the  war  and  many  resented  it.  It  threatened  serious 
business  depression  and  caused  much  suffering  from 
lack  of  employment  at  home.  Still  the  society  was  never 
hampered  by  any  lack  of  necessary  funds. 

On  the  outbreak  of  the  war,  all  shipping  became  so 
uncertain  that  even  the  United  States  Government  was 
compelled  to  send  men-of-war  to  Europe  to  render  aid 
to  our  own  citizens  and  to  prepare  a  number  of  large 
army  transports  for  passenger  service.  Because  of  this 
situation  and  because  of  the  complications  due  to  the 
changing  of  open  ports  in  the  early  days  of  the  war, 
the  Red  Cross  found  it  advisable  to  secure  its  own  ship. 
None  was  offered  free  of  charge  except  one  by  the 
Hamburg-American  Line.  Fortunately  Congress  was 
in  session  and  promptly  passed  a  law  permitting  the 
ship  to  register  from  New  York,  fly  the  American  flag 


270         UNDER  THE  RED  CROSS  FLAG 

and  take  the  name  of  the  "Red  Cross."  This  was  against 
all  precedent,  but  barriers  of  precedent  break  away 
before  the  appeal  of  the  Red  Cross. 

In  the  meantime,  through  the  aid  of  one  proficient 
in  war  relief  work  from  her  devoted  service  during  the 
Spanish-American  war,  Mrs.  William  K.  Draper,  sec- 
retary of  the  New  York  Red  Cross  Chapter,  there  was 
obtained  the  very  generous  loan  of  a  large  warehouse 
from  Mr.  Irving  T.  Bush,  at  his  Brooklyn  terminal,  for 
the  collection  of  supplies.  For  days  car  after  car  un- 
loaded the  vast  store  of  supplies  into  this  immense  ware- 
house. Hundreds  of  bales  in  long  rows,  hiding  beneath 
burlap  and  iron  bands,  the  cotton  that  was  to  dress  such 
innumerable  wounds,  brought  a  realizing  sense  of  the 
horrors  to  those  who  gazed  at  this  mute  evidence.  Al- 
ready women  throughout  the  country  were  organizing 
into  societies  to  roll  bandages  and  make  hospital  gar- 
ments and  refugee  clothing.  These  began  to  accumulate 
at  the  warehouse.  At  Red  Cross  headquarters  a  special 
department  for  advice,  patterns,  samples,  and  the  little 
Red  Crosses  to  be  sewed  on  the  garments  had  to  be  created 
to  answer  thousands  of  inquiries  and  requests. 

"While  the  important  work  of  collecting  supplies  was 
proceeding,  the  Medical  Bureau  and  Nursing  Service 
were  occupied  with  the  personnel.  The  Medical  Bureau 
had  not  yet  perfected  its  plans  for  the  enrollment  of 
medical  men  for  active  service,  and  at  that  short  notice 
it  was  not  an  easy  matter  to  secure  surgeons  of  expe- 
rience and  ability  so  situated  as  to  be  able  to  leave  their 
private  practice  for  a  long  foreign  tour  of  duty.  The 
War  Department,  because  of  the  question  of  neutrality, 
was  not  willing  to  permit  army  surgeons  to  undertake 
this  special  service.  It  is  difficult  for  persons  not  fa- 
miliar with  the  Red  Cross  and  also  of  the  status  of  the 
medical  service  in  time  of  war  to  grasp  the  fact  of  the 
absolute  neutrality  of  both.  Major  Patterson,  the  army 
medical  officer  detailed  as  Chief  of  the  Red  Cross  Med- 


PREPARATIONS  271 

ical  Bureau,  labored  earnestly  to  overcome  the  difficul- 
ties in  his  way,  and  was  fortunate  in  obtaining  a  num- 
ber of  faithful,  able  and  excellent  surgeons,  though  a 
few  were  not  up  to  the  high  standard  of  the  Red  Cross. 
These  surgeons  were  provided  with  the  regular  forest- 
green  uniform  of  our  Red  Cross  service  that  has  been 
approved  by  the  War  Department.  Each  unit  was 
composed  of  a  surgeon  director,  two  assistant  directors 
and  twelve  nurses,  one  of  whom  acted  as  supervising 
nurse. 

The  organization  of  the  Nursing  Service  that  Miss 
Delano  had  developed  with  more  than  six  thousand  en- 
rolled graduate  trained  nurses,  proved  its  splendid  effi- 
ciency. By  means  of  the  local  committee,  volunteers 
from  this  service  were  called  for,  and  from  among  the 
number  who  offered  those  of  the  units  were  selected.  To 
avoid  confusion  as  to  passports  and  questions  of  neu- 
trality, only  American-born  surgeons  and  nurses  were 
sent.  The  nurse 's  uniform  consisting  of  a  blue  hat,  cape, 
sweater,  six  wash  dresses,  ten  aprons,  four  caps,  six  col- 
lars and  her  equipment  of  a  heavy  brown  blanket  and  a 
duffle-bag  (for  trunks  were  not  permitted),  cost  less 
than  $40.  Later  in  the  colder  climates  heavy  coats  were 
provided,  and  in  Serbia  special  vermin-proof  uniforms 
after  the  outbreak  of  typhus  fever.  Every  surgeon  and 
nurse  were  required  to  pass  physical  examinations  and 
be  vaccinated  for  smallpox  and  typhoid.  Miss  Helen 
Scott  Hay,  who  was  to  sail  for  the  organization  of  the 
training  school  at  Sofia,  was  unable  to  do  so  as  the  war 
postponed  the  plan  and,  therefore,  she  was  sent  as  the 
superintendent  of  nurses.  Miss  Hay  has  since  gone  to 
Sofia  and  is  now  assisting  the  Queen  in  the  organization 
of  the  training  school  there.  Practical  instructions  as 
to  their  personal  welfare,  cautions  against  sending  in 
their  letters  any  information  that  the  countries  they 
serve  might  not  wish  given  out,  were  issued  to  the  nurses. 
The  serious  obligations  that  they  had  to  assume  and  the 


272          UNDER  THE  RED  CROSS  FLAG 

fact  that  the  honor  of  the  American  Red  Cross  and  of 
their  country  was  entrusted  to  them  for  the  faithful 
fulfilment  of  their  duties,  was  strongly  emphasized. 

War  conditions  added  many  perplexities  to  those  who 
had  the  ship  problem  to  solve.  From  the  retired  per- 
sonnel of  the  United  States  Navy  the  officers  were  ob- 
tained, and  Admiral  Aaron  Ward,  formerly  Naval  At- 
tache at  Paris,  Berlin  and  Petrograd,  took  charge  of  the 
arrangements  in  Europe,  joining  the  ship  on  her  arrival 
at  Falmouth.  At  the  last  moment  certain  diplomatic 
questions  arose  over  the  nationality  of  some  of  the  crew. 
Nothing  was  to  be  done  by  the  American  Red  Cross  that 
was  not  acceptable  to  the  countries  it  was  seeking  to  aid. 
Therefore,  the  sailing  was  delayed  until  everything  could 
be  satisfactorily  adjusted.  "Why  was  money  wasted  in 
decorating  the  ship  ?  ' '  was  one  of  the  many  strange  ques- 
tions that  puzzled  Red  Cross  officers.  What  decorations 
were  meant  ?  Finally  it  was  discovered  that  painting  her 
white  with  a  broad  red  band  and  the  Red  Cross  on  the 
smokestacks  were  thought  to  be  decorations.  The  Treaty 
of  The  Hague,  which  extends  to  naval  warfare,  the 
provisions  of  the  Treaty  of  Geneva,  stipulate  that  such 
ships  should  be  painted  white  with  a  red  straik,  and 
fly  the  Red  Cross  flag.  The  hospital  ships  of  bellig- 
erents are  painted  white,  but  to  distinguish  them  from 
the  ships  of  the  Red  Cross  Societies,  the  former  have  a 
green  straick  instead  of  red,  but  fly  the  same  insignia. 
The  so-called  decorations  of  our  Red  Cross  ship  were 
done  in  obedience  to  a  treaty  obligation,  and  to  provide 
her  with  the  protection  of  these  neutral  colors.  This  was 
not  the  first  time  our  American  Red  Cross  had  sent  forth 
ships  of  mercy  carrying  succor  to  those  in  need,  but 
never  before  had  one  set  sail  under  war  conditions,  and 
on  all  previous  occasions  the  Red  Cross  flag  had  been 
flown  only  to  announce  their  mission  as  no  protection  was 
required. 

Then  came  busy  days  loading  the  large  accumulation 


THE  WHITE  SHIP  OF  MERCY  273 

of  supplies  when  even  the  stevedores  labored  on  Sunday 
to  complete  the  work.  Those  for  each  country  were 
stored  away  in  reverse  order,  England's  last,  and  with 
her 's  Russia 's,  as  those  for  Petrograd  had  to  go  with  the 
personnel  across  England,  the  North  Sea,  Norway, 
Sweden,  the  Gulf  of  Bothnia  and  Finland  before  reach- 
ing their  destination.  Next  came  France,  and  the  ones 
to  be  loaded  first  were  for  Belgium,  Germany  and 
Austria,  which  were  landed  at  Rotterdam,  the  last  port. 
With  each  unit  went  an  army  surgical  equipment,  and 
these  the  doctors  were  instructed  to  keep  with  them,  as 
personal  baggage,  for  a  surgeon  without  his  instruments 
was  a  useless  individual  in  days  when  every  instrument 
was  already  in  demand  and  there  were  not  enough. 
Shocking  stories  of  operations  performed  with  ordinary 
saws  and  knives,  supplemented  by  automobile  tools,  and 
without  anaesthetics,  made  one  shudder  over  the  unneces- 
sary sufferings  and  eager  to  rush  the  greatly-needed 
supplies  across  the  water. 

When  the  date  of  sailing  was  decided  the  local  com- 
mittees were  sent  notices  to  forward  to  the  selected 
nurses,  telling  each  what  day  to  arrive  in  New  York  and 
what  hour  to  report  at  the  New  York  Red  Cross  office  to 
be  supplied  with  equipment ;  certain  hours  being  assigned 
to  each  group  of  avoid  confusion.  The  entire  corps  mobi- 
lized promptly  according  to  instructions. 

It  was  found  not  practicable  to  send  the  ship  to  the 
Mediterranean,  so  the  Serbian  unit  went  by  Greek  ship 
to  the  Piraeus  and  thence  to  Saloniki.  Good  courage 
and  uncomplaining  spirit  were  shown  by  every  member 
of  this  little  group  that  sailed  on  September  8th  on  a 
long,  slow  voyage  by  a  second-class  ship  loaded  with  a 
large  cargo  and  more  than  a  thousand  Serbian  reservists. 
It  was  not  clean ;  there  were  no  baths  for  the  nurses  and 
the  usurpation  of  their  staterooms  by  the  rats  com- 
pelled some  of  them  to  sleep  on  deck.  It  was  all  in  a 
day 's  work  and  neither  the  Director,  Dr.  Ryan,  who  had 
18 


274          UNDER  THE  RED  CROSS  FLAG 

known  the  horrors  of  Mexican  revolutions,  nor  Miss  Glad- 
win,  the  supervising  nurse,  who  had  seen  war  in  the 
Far  East,  uttered  a  protest.  This  spirit,  manifested  by 
the  entire  group,  gave  promise  of  the  splendid  service 
they  were  later  to  perform. 

On  Saturday,  September  12th,  down  the  busy  peace- 
ful waters  of  the  North  River  glided  the  "Red  Cross," 
lining  her  rails  were  long  rows  of  surgeons  in  their  green 
uniforms  and  nurses  in  the  grey  gowns  and  dark  blue 
capes.  The  beautiful  white  ship  with  her  band  of  red, 
the  fluttering  emblem  of  the  Red  Cross  at  her  foremast 
and  the  American  flag  (presented  by  the  City  of  Balti- 
more) at  her  stern,  proclaimed  her  mission  of  mercy. 
The  groups  on  the  boats  cheered  her  as  she  passed,  the 
flags  of  many  nations  flying  from  great  steamers  dipped 
their  colors  in  salute.  No  matter  what  the  nationality,  all 
were  united  in  wishing  her  God  speed  on  her  voyage, 
and  every  heart  that  watched  her  was  touched  with  the 
divine  light  of  mercy.  As  the  white  ship  passed  the 
towering  statue  in  the  harbor,  Liberty  for  a  moment 
seemed  to  grasp  in  her  uplifted  hand  the  flag  of  the  Red 
Cross  that  floated  at  the  masthead  and  to  hold  it  forth  a 
token  of  America's  sympathy  for  war-stricken  Europe. 

Life  on  board  was  not  to  be  a  lazy  existence,  but  a 
busy  one  of  active  practice  for  future  duties.  Major 
Patterson  demonstrated  to  the  surgeons  the  use  of  the 
field  army  equipment  and  drilled  them  in  its  employment. 
The  nurses  were  divided  into  many  classes  and  certain 
hours  of  the  day  set  aside  for  lessons  and  practice.  The 
treatment  of  wounds,  bandaging  and  practical  exercises 
were  carried  on  under  the  surgeons  as  instructors.  Les- 
sons in  the  metric  system  and  in  languages  were  part  of 
their  studies.  Adopting  the  European  custom,  the  nurses 
dropped  the  formal  use  of  the  last  name  and  took  the 
gentler  one  of  ' '  sister. ' '  Max  Mueller  says  the  old  Aryan 
word  for  sister  meant  comforter.  If  this  be  true,  no 
name  better  suits  the  calling  of  these  devoted  women. 


LIFE  ON  BOARD  THE   "RED  CROSS         275 

The  good  ship  was  not  to  go  unquestioned,  and  the 
first  night  out  from  New  York  there  came  from  a  watch- 
ful British  cruiser  a  signal  of  inquiry.  Ready  with  her 
answer  the  red  lights  in  the  shape  of  the  Geneva  Cross 
flashed  back  the  message  of  her  mission.  In  the  name 
of  suffering  humanity  she  sailed  on  her  way  without  let 
or  hindrance.  Again  and  again,  as  she  approached  the 
carefully-guarded  English  coast,  battleship  and  cruiser 
asked  the  question,  and  again  the  answer  granted  her 
safe  conduct  to  her  destination. 

The  British  Government  had  designated  Falmouth  as 
her  English  port.  There  a  dozen  surgeons  and  fifty  of 
the  nurses  landed,  the  units  for  England  and  Russia, 
while  lighters  took  the  bales  and  boxes  of  supplies  on 
shore.  So  accustomed  are  we  to  the  well-regulated  days 
of  peace  that  we  find  it  difficult  to  understand  the  con- 
fusion of  war's  strange  condition.  Why  our  units  were 
not  always  promptly  placed  and  why  they  had  not  im- 
mediately a  large  number  of  wounded  entrusted  to  their 
excellent  care,  were  questions  not  infrequently  heard. 
In  reading  foreign  reports  we  find  nurses  of  the  belliger- 
ents themselves  waiting  and  waiting  for  definite  stations 
and  longing  for  active  duty.  The  city  hospitals  to  which 
we  are  accustomed  know  the  average  number  of  daily 
patients,  and  staff  and  nurses  are  provided  for  this 
normal  amount,  but  war  presents  an  entirely  different 
proposition.  A  furious  battle  rages  for  days  in  a  certain 
locality,  and  the  hospitals  in  the  vicinity  are  overwhelmed 
with  the  influx  of  patients.  Then  the  fighting  shifts  to 
another  point.  Those  in  the  first  hospitals  mostly  recover 
and  its  wards  are  half  empty,  the  nurses  sitting  with 
idle  hands.  While  the  service  near  the  new  scene  of 
conflict  formerly  with  little  to  do  is  now  in  its  turn  over- 
powered with  thousands  of  wounded  the  endless  stream 
of  ambulances  deposit  at  its  doors. 

Before  the  "Red  Cross"  sailed,  instructions  had  been 
received  that  Brest  was  to  be  her  French  port,  but  on 


276          UNDER  THE  RED  CROSS  FLAG 

her  arrival  in  England  this  order  was  changed  to  Pauillac, 
the  port  of  Bordeaux.  So,  turning  westward  and  then 
southward,  she  proceeded  on  her  way  answering  the 
many  queries  of  the  sentry  ships  with  the  emblem  of  her 
service.  At  that  time  the  French  Government  was  estab- 
lished at  Bordeaux,  and  there  Admiral  "Ward  found  the 
President  of  the  French  Red  Cross,  the  Marquis  de 
Vogiie,  academician,  diplomatist,  archaeologist,  and  above 
all  philanthropist,  who,  in  spite  of  his  more  than  eighty 
years,  has  again  taken  up  the  burden  of  war  relief.  His 
daughter,  Viscountess  Benoist  d'Azy,  who  was  a  repre- 
sentative of  the  French  Red  Cross  at  the  Ninth  Con- 
ference when  her  husband  was  Naval  Attache  at  Wash- 
ington, is  serving  as  a  nurse  in  a  Red  Cross  hospital  near 
the  front.  A  curious  little  incident  occurred  somewhat 
later.  A  former  treasurer  of  the  American  Red  Cross 
and  Assistant  Treasurer  of  the  United  States  Treasury 
Department,  Mr.  Piatt  Andrew,  was  driving  an  ambu- 
lance for  the  collection  of  French  wounded.  Arriving 
one  day  at  Dunkirk,  he  stopped  before  the  doors  of  a 
Red  Cross  hospital  to  leave  his  wounded  men.  As  he 
carefully  lifted  out  a  stretcher,  a  nurse  grasped  the 
handles  at  the  other  end.  Suddenly,  glancing  at  her, 
he  saw  to  his  surprise  the  nurse  was  Madame  Benoist 
d  'Azy.  How  little  had  either  thought  as  they  dined  and 
danced  in  Washington  they  would  meet  again  in  France 
in  the  service  of  the  Red  Cross. 

From  Paufllac  the  Red  Cross  continued  her  voyage  to 
Rotterdam.  After  she  had  left  the  French  port,  Great 
Britain  pronounced  certain  portions  of  the  Channel  and 
North  Sea  danger  zones  because  of  mines,  but  English 
officers  were  on  the  lookout  for  our  ship,  and  meeting 
her,  a  special  pilot  was  put  on  board  to  take  her  through 
the  perils  by  sea.  At  Rotterdam  she  received  a  most 
cordial  welcome  from  the  good  people  of  Holland.  The 
Royal  Consort,  Prince  Henry,  President  of  the  Red  Cross 
of  The  Netherlands,  went  on  board  himself  to  show  his 


FUNDS  AND  SUPPLIES  277 

appreciation  of  her  mission.  That  the  ship  carried  aid 
for  the  sick  and  wounded  of  all  nations  made  an  especially 
favorable  impression  in  Holland,  because  the  true  spirit 
of  the  Red  Cross — Neutrality — Humanity — was  thus 
manifested.  Here  the  stevedores  unloaded  the  last  of 
the  supplies  and  would  accept  no  pay  for  their  services. 
The  stores  for  Belgium  were  quickly  transported  to  a 
specially  chartered  vessels  and  reshipped  to  Ghent, 
arriving  there  before  that  city  was  captured.  The  sur- 
geons and  nurses  with  the  supplies  for  Germany  and 
Austria  were  given  a  special  train  for  Berlin.  Though 
their  English  tongue  caused  occasional  glances  of  sus- 
picion, they  had  but  to  show  their  Red  Cross  passports 
to  turn  the  glances  of  suspicion  into  those  of  kindly, 
grateful  welcome.  Having  fulfilled  her  mission,  the 
"Red  Cross"  returned  to  New  York,  bringing  a  number 
of  American  passengers  to  help  defray  her  expenses.  By 
this  time  shipping  conditions  were  improved,  and  it  be- 
came possible  to  forward  additional  personnel  and  sup- 
plies by  the  regular  lines.  The  cold  Archangel  port,  in 
spite  of  powerful  ice-breakers,  was  cloyed  during  the 
winter  months,  so  that  Russia  could  not  be  reached  for 
many  weeks. 

Into  the  great  warehouse  of  the  Bush  Terminal  con- 
tinued to  come  thousands  of  cases  of  purchased  and 
donated  supplies,  and  as  rapidly  as  possible  these  were 
forwarded.  Figures  sometimes  tell  a  story  and  just  a 
few  of  these  may  not  be  too  dull  to  quote.  In  less  than 
a  year's  time  nearly  two  million  bandages,  over  a  million 
surgical  dressings,  more  than  a  million  yards  of  gauze, 
and  nearly  a  million  pounds  of  absorbent  cotton  were 
sent  to  Europe.  Half  a  million  articles  of  clothing  for 
the  wounded  and  refugees  were  made  by  willing  hands. 
Hospital  garments  decorated  with  the  Red  Cross  met 
with  the  special  favor  of  the  wounded  men,  who  saw  in 
each  little  cross  a  message  of  kindly  sympathy  from  across 
the  water.  In  the  pockets  of  some  of  the  pajamas  were 


278         UNDER  THE  RED  CROSS  FLAG 

stowed  handkerchiefs,  pencils,  picture  post-cards  ad- 
dressed to  the  makers,  and  little  American  flags  that 
delighted  the  patients.  From  the  students  of  Yale  and 
Harvard,  our  great  universities,  and  from  other  gen- 
erous donors  were  a  score  of  ambulances.  More  than  ten 
million  cigarettes  came  from  manufacturers, — a  gift  more 
welcome  than  non-smokers  comprehend.  What  oblivion 
from  suffering  the  forty  thousand  pounds  of  anaesthetics 
carried  with  them !  What  safety  from  infection,  that  dead- 
ly enemy  of  the  wounded  in  this  present  war,  was  sealed 
in  the  many  barrels  of  iodine !  What  prevention  of  tetanus, 
typhoid,  diphtheria  and  meningitis  was  held  in  the  thou- 
sands of  doses  of  antitoxin  prepared  and  sent!  More 
than  a  hundred  boxes  of  drugs,  more  than  fifteen  hun- 
dred additional  instruments,  hot-water  bottles,  ice-bags, 
rubber  gloves  and  sheets  by  the  thousands  found  their 
way  to  the  war  hospitals  in  Europe.  Four  field  hospitals 
with  tents  for  patients,  staff,  operations  and  kitchen,  with 
their  complete  equipment,  were  bought  and  forwarded. 
Into  all  these  and  innumerable  other  articles  was  poured 
a  wealth  of  human  sympathy  that  came  from  the  rich  and 
poor  alike.  The  check  for  many  thousands  showed  the 
same  kindly  desire  to  aid  the  sufferers  as  the  ten  cents 
from  the  poor  Polish  woman  who  spoke  no  English,  but 
who  smiled  at  the  Red  Cross  as  she  dropped  her  mite  into 
a  collection  box.  The  money  that  was  designated  has 
been  sent  to  the  Red  Cross  societies.  The  undesignated 
funds  have  been  used  for  the  purchase  of  supplies  and 
for  other  needs,  for  the  hospitals  where  our  Red  Cross 
units  have  been  stationed,  for  the  American  Ambulance 
in  Paris,  to  aid  the  prisoners '  bureau  at  Geneva,  to  trans- 
port the  wounded  from  the  front,  for  the  Belgian 
refugees,  for  hospitals  in  Turkey,  for  refugees  in  Persia, 
for  Jews  in  Palestine,  for  the  German  and  Austrian 
prisoners  in  Siberia,  for  Russian  prisoners  in  Germany, 
for  the  American  Relief  Clearing  House  in  Paris,  for 
the  British  Red  Cross  Intelligence  Department,  to  aid 


FUNDS  AND  SUPPLIES  279 

those  totally  blinded  by  war,  and  for  the  Sanitary  Com- 
mission to  Serbia  and  Montenegro.  To  each  country  the 
American  Eed  Cross  has  tried  to  send  what  was  most 
desired. 

The  field  has  been  so  vast,  the  need  so  great,  the  suffer- 
ing so  appalling,  that  there  must  come  to  our  American 
Red  Cross  a  sense  of  gratitude  that,  in  this  world-wide 
tragedy,  it  has  not  had  to  labor  for  our  own  sick  and 
wounded,  but  has  been  free  to  lend  its  aid  to  each  and 
all  of  our  fellow  nations  in  distress. 


CHAPTER  XX 

A  CASTLE  AT  PAIGNTON.  WAR  STORIES.  AN  ENGLISH 
CHRISTMAS.  THE  WINTER  PALACE.  FIVE  SOLDIERS 
OF  FRANCE.  BY  THE  SEA  IN  BELGIUM.  RESCUED 
FROM  FIRE.  ON  THE  POLISH  BORDER.  A  THEATRE 
OF  WAR.  IN  AUSTRIA-HUNGARY.  GRATITUDE. 

THE  varied  conditions  under  which  the  American  Red 
Cross  Units  have  served  are  typical  of  the  fortunes  of 
war.  On  the  beautiful  south  coast  of  England  were  the 
stations  of  the  British  units, — one  at  the  Royal  Naval 
Hospital  at  Haslar,  and  the  other  at  the  American  Wo- 
men's Relief  Hospital  at  Paignton.  Ready  for  active 
work,  there  was  at  first  a  sense  of  disappointment  evident 
when  one  of  the  nurses  wrote  from  the  hospital  at 
Haslar:  "It  was  quite  empty  when  we  arrived,  and 
we  were  bemoaning  our  fate  that  we  were  not  sent  to 
the  front,  when  we  received  notice  that  wounded  Belgians 
were  coming,  and  work  was  plentiful  for  a  time.  They 
have  a  body  of  men  here  called  St.  John's  Ambalance 
Men,  who  are  almost  like  our  male  trained  nurses.  These 
are  the  nurses  who  actually  go  to  the  front,  and  by  the 
way,  they  are  called  nurses  too.  We  are  'sisters,'  and 
when  the  doctor  asks  for  a  nurse  he  means  one  of  them. 
It  was  late  in  the  afternoon  when  word  came  our 
wounded  were  on  the  way.  Huge  fires  were  soon  blaz- 
ing, beds  gotten  ready  with  hot  water  bottles,  and  every- 
thing possible  done  for  their  comfort.  The  first  came 
about  eleven  at  night,  and  by  ten  o'clock  the  next  morn- 
ing nine  hundred  and  eighty  had  been  received,  bathed 
and  wounds  dressed,  and  everything  running  in  regu- 
lar routine.  It  was  really  marvellous.  I  like  the  Belgian 
soldiers  very  much  indeed,  though  they  were  a  poor, 
broken-spirited  lot  of  men,  and  in  such  a  state  of  mental 
demoralization  owing  to  their  great  loss  that  they  wept 

280 


A  CASTLE  AT  PAIGNTON  281 

often  before  one  attempted  to  touch  their  dressings. 
They  were  such  gentlemen."  After  six  weeks  it  was 
decided  to  send  the  Haslar  unit  to  join  that  at  Paignton 
where  a  larger  force  was  needed.  Reluctantly  they  left 
Haslar,  the  same  nurse  adding,  "Everyone,  from  the 
surgeon-general  down  to  the  attendants,  seemed  sorry  to 
have  us  go,  and  none  were  more  sorry  than  ourselves. 
The  surgeon-general  wrote  the  other  day  to  our  super- 
visor how  much  they  missed  us ;  how  sorry  he  was  that 
we  were  gone,  and  that  our  motto  should  be  'quiet  and 
efficient.'  " 

In  the  beautiful  home  of  Mr.  Paris  Singer,  "Oldway 
House, ' '  at  Paignton,  and  not  far  from  famous  Torquay, 
the  two  units  were  united.  This  splendid  house  has 
been  loaned  for  a  hospital  to  a  group  of  American  women 
who  have  married  in  England,  and  it  is  under  a  com- 
mittee of  such  prominent  women  as  Lady  Paget,  Lady 
Randolph  Churchill,  the  Duchess  of  Marlborough  and 
Mrs.  Harcourt.  Marble  stairways,  tapestried  walls  and 
a  magnificent  park  of  many  acres  hardly  presents  the 
idea  of  a  war  hospital,  but  quite  at  home  there  is  Tommy 
Atkins,  for  the  ladies  had  stipulated  they  were  to  have 
the  regulars  for  their  patients.  Sorry  as  she  was  to  leave 
the  gentlemanly  Belgians,  Sister  Edna  has  a  good  word 
to  say  for  the  soldiers  at  Paignton.  "Many  badly 
wounded  men  are  here.  They  are  a  nice  lot  of  chaps, 
have  great  nerve  and  lots  of  grit  and  are  just  as  cheer- 
ful as  they  can  be,  though  the  greater  part  of  them  know 
they  will  never  be  fit  for  service  again.  We  hear  from 
time  to  time  about  the  awfulness  of  this  war.  We  ap- 
preciate it  from  what  we  have  seen,  but  what  must  it  be 
for  the  poor  fellows  who  are  really  behind  the  guns." 

Whenever  a  sister  has  a  moment's  leisure,  into  her 
ears  war  stories  are  poured. 

"H'l  say,  Sister,  stop  a  bit  for  a  talk.  H'its  good  to 
'ave  somebody  to  say  a  word  to,"  calls  Tommy,  who  was 
evidently  born  within  the  sound  of  Bow  Bells,  and  both 


282         UNDER  THE  RED  CROSS  FLAG 

of  whose  feet  were  frost  bitten  in  the  trenches  near 
Ypres.  "H'l  seen  some  sights  h'l  won't  soon  forget. 
There  are  those  black  Gurkhas,  a  fine  lot  of  men  they  be. 
H'l  was  in  the  trenches  with  them  November  fifth.  The 
Germans  knowed  it  was  our  bonfire  day,  but  we  didn't 
get  fireworks.  They  just  gave  us  'ell  all  day  long.  H'l 
saw  some  terrible  sights  when  the  shells  dropped  near 
h'our  trenches  and  'it  some  of  the  poor  beggars.  H'l  'ad 
my  feet  froze,  but  I  know  some  wot's  wuss.  Those  Gurk- 
has they  'd  just  smile  and  smile  when  they  were  wounded. 
When  we  was  sent  for  h 'ammunition  h'l  'ave  h 'actually 
seen  them  carrying  a  box  on  their  'eads,  with  a  rifle  h  'in 
each  'and.  They're  never  'appy  when  they  h'arnt 
fightin'." 

Jealous  of  the  sister's  listening  so  long  by  one  bed- 
side, Mr.  Atkins  from  across  the  way  sings  out  in  a  cheery 
voice,  "I  have  seen  a  bit  o'  life,  too,  Sister.  Had  some 
adventures  o'  me'  own.  One  day  as  we  were  passin' 
through  Ypres  when  the  Germans  were  shellin'  the  town 
a  water  bottle  slipped  down  from  the  top  of  the  ammu- 
nition wagon  and  got  between  it  and  the  wheel.  We 
stopped  a  bit  to  put  things  right,  and  in  a  minute  a  coal 
box  (a  seventeen-inch  howitzer)  burst  fifty  yards  in  front 
of  us  just  where  we  'd  have  been  if  it  hadn  't  been  for  the 
bottle.  Goin'  on  thinkin'  ourselves  very  lucky  we  got  to 
a  high  bridge  the  Germans  were  shellin'  heavily,  it  bein' 
the  only  one  for  the  transports  and  ammunition  wagons. 
We  were  just  behind  the  French  ammunition  column 
and  their  last  wagon  was  on  the  bridge,  with  us  still  our 
lucky  fifty  yards  behind,  when  a  large  shell  burst  right 
over  the  bridge  killin'  two  of  the  poor  devils  and  three 
horses.  We  didn't  get  a  scratch  and  we'll  believe  to  our 
dyin'  day,  Sister  Charlotte,  twice  that  water  bottle  saved 
our  lives." 

During  the  long  days  of  convalescence  these  are  the 
stories  of  war's  constant  tragedies  that  the  enlisted  sol- 
diers tell  among  themselves  or  repeat  to  the  sympathetic 


AN  ENGLISH  CHRISTMAS  283 

ears  of  the  nurses.  Case  after  case  of  serious  wounds  the 
sisters  note;  there  a  man  whose  poor  frost  bitten  feet 
mean  amputation,  here  only  a  boy,  and  yet  the  light  for- 
ever blotted  out  by  the  cruel  shot  that  passed  through 
both  of  his  eyes.  Always  the  same  good  courage.  ' '  The 
most  remarkable  thing  is  the  cheerfulness  among  the  men. 
No  matter  how  badly  they  are  wounded  or  maimed  for 
life,  they  talk  and  laugh  the  whole  day  long.  One  feels 
like  mothering  them  all;  some  are  so  very  young,  and 
the  older  ones,  too,  need  their  share  of  mothering, ' '  reads 
a  nurse's  diary.  Brave,  cheery  fellows,  making  the  best 
of  it  to  the  world  outside.  But  what  of  the  sad,  sad 
thoughts  of  the  wakeful  hours  covered  by  the  darkness 
of  the  night. 

An  eventful  day  it  was  when  Queen  Mary  came  from 
London  to  visit  them.  She  went  through  all  the  wards 
and  had  a  kindly  word  for  each  man  as  she  passed. 
Shaking  hands  with  our  supervising  nurse  in  true  Ameri- 
can fashion,  she  expressed  her  delight  with  all  she  had 
seen  of  the  work,  and  left  the  nurses  aglow  with  her 
generous  praise. 

Even  on  the  battlefields  themselves  the  peace  of 
Christmas  Day  silenced  unordered  the  thundering  guns, 
and  into  the  sadness  of  the  hospital  the  blessed  season 
brought  the  brightness  and  the  cheer  of  better  days.  The 
night  sisters  at  Paignton  had  made  huge  stockings  of 
crinoline,  button-holing  the  edges  with  red  yarn,  for  the 
many  gifts.  "Well,  Christmas  has  come  and  gone," 
writes  one  of  our  nurses.  "It  was  a  busy  time  for  us 
and  a  happy  one  for  the  soldiers.  The  hospital  was 
gayly  decorated  throughout  with  the  flags  of  the  Allies 
and  our  own  beautiful  one,  with  holly  and  colored  papers, 
and  in  many  of  the  wards  were  trees.  The  long  stockings 
were  full  to  overflowing.  The  King  and  Queen  Alex- 
andra remembered  the  men,  and  the  ladies'  committee 
sent  each  one  a  silver  cigarette  case.  The  entire  country 
around  brought  cakes,  fruits,  jams,  candies,  nuts  and 


284         UNDER  THE  RED  CROSS  FLAG 

puddings.  There  was  nothing  to  be  wished  for  left,  and 
believe  me  the  men  did  justice  to  it  all.  These  Tommy 
Atkins  have  good  appetites.  We  filled  the  stockings  and 
hung  them  to  the  beds,  which  took  the  men  back  to  their 
childhood  days,  and  needless  to  say  they  were  children 
when  they  discovered  the  stockings.  They  demanded 
the  lights  on  at  half-past  five  in  the  morning,  and  it 
sounded  more  like  a  children's  hospital  than  one  for 
grown  military  men.  In  the  afternoon  the  sisters  all 
had  tea  with  them.  One  of  the  really  pathetic  incidents 
was  the  concert  given  by  the  American  sisters,  Sister 
Frances  and  myself  among  them.  The  men  wanted 
American  songs,  so  we  favored  them  with  a  few  selections 
which  met  with  wild  applause,  though  there  were  tears 
in  their  eyes.  The  day  was  filled  just  as  full  as  could 
be  and  the  object  of  the  celebration  was  accomplished — 
to  take  the  patients'  minds  for  a  time  from  the  horrible 
scenes  they  had  just  been  through  and  from  which  they 
do  not  seem  to  be  able  to  get  away.  In  the  day  time  these 
are  their  one  topic  of  conversation,  and  at  night  they 
live  it  all  over  in  their  dreams  and  wake  up  shrieking, 
and  it  is  hard  to  make  them  understand  that  they  are  in 
their  beds."  At  the  close  of  Christmas  day  one  of  the 
men,  in  a  remark  he  made  to  the  supervising  sister,  gave 
a  pathetic  little  glimpse  of  his  other  Christmas  days. 
"It  is  the  best  Christmas  I  ever  had,  and  it  was  a  treat, 
Sister,  to  see  everybody  sober." 

If  the  units  in  England  found  a  castle  for  their 
station,  those  in  France  had  to  use  their  ingenuity  to 
convert  a  portion  of  the  beautiful  Palais  d'Hiver  at  Pau 
into  a  hospital.  But  they  were  equal  to  this  practical 
demand,  and  soon  had  well  arranged  wards  and  operat- 
ing rooms  ready  for  the  wounded  soldiers  of  France. 
Pau  was  a  long  way  from  the  front,  but  as  the  plan  of  the 
French  Medical  Service  was  to  evacuate  the  wounded 
as  speedily  as  possible  from  the  front  to  the  more  re- 
mote districts  the  hospital  trains  brought  the  soldiers  to 


FIVE  SOLDIERS  OF  FRANCE  285 

their  care.  No  regular  trained  nurses  were  in  the  town 
save  those  of  our  American  units,  and  proud  indeed  were 
they  to  find  a  notice  in  the  railroad  station  ordering  the 
seriously  wounded  to  be  taken  to  the  American  hospital 
in  their  charge.  They  did  good  work  there,  our  faithful 
surgeons  and  nurses;  and  when  the  emergency  call  came 
from  Washington  for  a  surgeon  and  three  nurses  to 
volunteer  for  the  care  of  our  many  surgeons  and  nurses 
suddenly  stricken  with  typhus  fever  in  Serbia,  the  Di- 
rector, Dr.  Kirby-Smith  himself,  and  three  of  the  nurses 
rushed  to  the  aid  of  their  compatriots  at  the  risk  of  their 
own  lives. 

Many  were  the  kindly  words  of  praise  said  of  the 
units  at  Pau,  but  none  were  more  treasured  by  them 
than  those  of  the  little  letter  from  five  "Soldiers  of 
France. "  "  On  leaving  the  hospital  our  hearts  impell  us 
to  express  to  you  the  gratitude  which  we  feel  for  the 
enlightened  and  devoted  care  which  you  have  lavished 
upon  us.  Thanks  to  your  science  you  have  put  soldiers 
of  France  once  more  on  their  feet.  In  spite  of  the  dif- 
ference between  our  languages,  our  hearts  have  beat 
in  unison,  and  it  is  not  difficult  for  us  to  make  our- 
selves understood.  Once  more  thanks.  Long  live  the  two 
republics!" 

But  there  are  other  soldiers  of  France  who  have 
fought  for  her  colors — men  of  darker  hue,  the  Arabs 
of  northern  Africa.  They,  too,  need  the  Bed  Cross  care, 
and  from  Fort  Mahon  comes  their  story:  "We  have 
a  ward  called  'George  V  which  contains  twenty-three 
Turcos  and  one  black  fellow  named  by  us  'Sambo'  and 
'Jumbo.'  These  Arabs  have  no  prejudice  against  noise, 
and  weep  and  moan  and  shriek  whenever  they  want 
or  feel  anything.  So  we  call  George  ward  the  'jungle', 
and  you  would  laugh  and  cry  together  to  hear  them. 
They  are  like  children.  One  asks  for  water,  and  instantly 
the  whole  line  moans  and  chants,  'De  Teau,  Madame; 
de  1'eau,'  Jumbo's  deep  base  note  rumbling  under  all 


286          UNDER  THE  RED  CROSS  FLAG 

the  rest.  You  speak  to  one  and  at  once  all  the  rest 
begin  to  clamor  like  children.  They  want  you  to  pay 
attention  to  them,  too.  One  chants  all  day.  We  thought 
he  was  saying  his  prayers,  but  the  Chief,  a  man  of 
many  medals,  who  speaks  French,  said,  'No,  he  is  tell- 
ing you  how  he  feels.  He  sings, ' '  My  knee  hurts,  oh,  how 
my  knee  hurts,  and  my  head  aches.  I  was  shot  in  the 
knee  and  lay  a  long  time  before  I  was  carried  to  the 
doctors.  The  sun  is  hid  and  it  is  cold.  Oh,  how  my  knee 
hurts.  Soon  they  will  bring  my  dinner,  but  I  am  not 
hungry."  And  so  on  all  the  tune.  We  hear  guns  all 
day,  see  their  flashes  all  night  against  the  clouds,  are 
often  visited  by  aeroplanes,  and  hear  and  see  many 
troops.  Nearby  German  prisoners  are  mending  the  roads. 
It  all  sounds  very  thrilling,  doesn't  it?  As  a  matter  of 
fact  it  is  only  saddening  to  hear  that  incessant  thunder 
and  be  reminded  so  constantly  on  all  sides  of  the  daily, 
hourly,  horror." 

Where  they,  too,  can  almost  hear  the  guns,  have  been 
a  little  group  of  our  Red  Cross  nurses  at  the  hospital  in 
Yvetot.  And  not  far  away  are  the  Belgian  units.  On 
the  outbreak  of  the  war  Belgium  desired  no  surgeons 
and  nurses,  but  when  her  Red  Cross  active  service  was 
reorganized  in  the  little  unconquered  northwest  corner 
of  the  country  the  appeal  came  for  surgeons  and  nurses. 
Built  upon  the  sands  of  the  sea,  La  Panne  has  become  a 
little  hospital  town,  with  its  many  pavilions  for  patients 
and  for  staff.  Near  to  the  firing  line  it  is,  and  nerves 
must  be  steady  over  an  operating  table  not  to  flinch  at 
the  sound  of  a  sudden  gun.  "I  do  not  think  I  have  heard 
a  big  gun  today,"  wrote  one  of  the  surgeons,  "but  now 
we  are  used  to  them  and  do  not  stop  and  prick  up  our 
ears  whenever  we  hear  one.  The  aeroplanes  are  quite 
numerous,  and  once  in  a  while  a  German  Taube  gives  us 
a  scarce.  They  put  shell  all  around,  but  have  not  hit 
the  Allies  here  as  yet."  The  German  guns  have  not  pro- 
vided the  only  danger  at  La  Panne,  and  what  might 


BY  THE  SEA  IN  BELGIUM  287 

have  proved  a  very  serious  disaster  threatened  the  entire 
hospital  one  night  last  June.  In  Sister  Dorothy's  re- 
port she  tells  of  the  narrow  escape. 

"We  had  an  exciting  time  here  on  Sunday  night. 
Fire  broke  out  in  the  new  Albert  and  Elizabeth  pavilion 
about  nine  o'clock  and  completely  destroyed  the  place. 
This  pavilion  had  three  large  wards  of  one  hundred  beds 
each  and  two  operating  theatres.  One  of  the  wards  had 
just  been  opened  and  forty  patients  had  been  admitted. 
Sister  Florence  and  I  had  just  been  transferred  to  one 
of  these  new  wards  and  were  working  hard  to  straighten 
things  out.  Everything  looked  so  nicely  that  it  was  with 
a  feeling  of  pride  I  locked  the  door  at  seven  o'clock.  You 
cannot  imagine  how  badly  we  felt  when  after  the  alarm 
we  hurried  out  to  find  our  beautiful  pavilion  going  up  in 
smoke  and  flames.  I  was  much  concerned  about  our 
niglit  nurses  until  I  learned  that  they  were  safe  and  all 
the  patients  taken  out  without  injury.  At  the  sound 
of  a  bugle  hundreds  of  soldiers  came  to  our  aid.  It  took 
only  a  few  minutes  to  form  water  lines  from  the  pavilion 
to  the  sea  (I  think  all  the  buckets  and  pitchers  on  the 
place  were  in  use),  and  by  their  quick  and  steady  work 
they  saved  all  the  other  buildings,  which  were  in  such 
great  danger  we  were  ordered  to  move  all  the  patients 
to  the  beach.  I  can  never  tell  you  how  we  worked  to  get 
the  patients  out.  The  fire  broke  out  in  the  gas  house, 
and  as  the  electric  lights  were  cut  off  we  had  to  use  can- 
dles. One  of  the  patients  as  he  was  being  carried  out 
looked  up  at  me  with  the  most  appealing  expression  and 
asked,  'Sister,  is  it  the  enemy?'  The  King  and  Queen 
were  there.  One  of  our  nurses  who  was  trying  to  get  a 
patient  out  looked  about  for  assistance,  and  not  knowing 
to  whom  she  was  speaking  turned  to  a  man  standing  near 
and  said,  'I  do  not  know  who  you  are,  but  I  want  some 
one  to  help  me  with  this  patient.'  He  smiled  and  told 
her  he  was  the  King. 

"The  pavilion  is  to  be  rebuilt,  and  in  the  mean  time 


288          UNDER  THE  RED  CROSS  FLAG 

We  are  put  in  the  reception  pavilion,  the  most  interesting 
of  all,  where  we  receive  from  ten  to  twenty  patients  a 
day." 

The  good  Belgian  doctors  gave  for  the  American 
surgeons  and  nurses  a  little  tea  to  celebrate  our  national 
birthday.  There  is  something  pathetic  in  the  thought 
that  these  men  who  had  lost  their  own  country  remem- 
bered the  day  we  celebrate  the  winning  of  ours. 

On  the  way  to  the  Slavic  allies  we  may  cross  through 
Holland  and  follow  our  other  units  into  Germany  and 
Austria.  At  Gleichwitz  and  Kosel,  close  to  the  Polish 
border  in  Germany,  have  two  of  them  been  stationed, 
so  close  that  from  the  very  first  there  has  been  work 
in  plenty.  At  Kosel  one  unit  was  given  the  garrison 
hospital — Lazaret,  they  call  it.  Strange  that  the  old 
name  for  a  leper  house  still  persists  so  long  after  the 
original  purpose  disappeared.  The  very  day  after  the 
arrival  of  our  surgeons  and  nurses  the  hospital  was 
filled  with  wounded  directly  from  the  battlefield. 

The  Christmas  tree  on  its  native  soil  could  not  fail 
to  find  its  place  in  a  German  hospital.  "We  were  too 
busy  to  be  homesick,"  said  Sister  Frances,  in  a  hastily 
written  letter.  ' '  Our  celebration  was  a  very  pretty  one. 
A  great  tree  was  dressed  and  presents  and  good  things  in 
abundance  for  every  patient  provided.  Christmas  Eve 
all  the  men  were  carried  into  one  big  room  where  a 
stirring  address  was  made,  half  sermon,  half  exhortation, 
followed  by  the  singing  of  German  Christmas  songs  in 
which  we  all  took  part.  Each  ward  had  its  own  tree,  and 
I  had  difficulty  in  keeping  some  of  my  nurses  from 
spending  all  their  money  to  make  their  decorations  the 
prettiest. ' ' 

And  so  the  Christmas  spirit  was  to  be  found  every- 
where, in  spite  of  war  and  sorrow  and  human  suffering, 
:<ud  the  hearts  that  ached  for  those  who  never  again 
would  gather  around  the  Christmas  tree  in  the  years  yet 


ON  THE  POLISH  BORDER  289 

to  come.  To  the  smoky  city  of  Gleichwitz  went  our  other 
unit.  The  German  Red  Cross  had  assigned  Count  Tal- 
leyrand to  look  out  for  the  American  surgeons  and  nurses, 
and  a  most  devoted  counselor,  friend  and  guardian  he 
proved.  A  theatre  here  became  our  unit's  hospital,  a 
veritable  theatre  of  war,  filled  with  its  wounded  men. 
"The  morning  after  our  arrival  we  were  given  charge 
of  this  unique  hospital,"  Ober-Schwester  Anna  tells  her 
story.  "Our  first  work  was  to  organize  the  operating 
room,  which  is  in  the  lobby  where  are  the  essentials,  light 
and  heat.  An  operating  table,  gas  burners,  a  rough  board 
partition  and  two  shelves  completed  our  requisitions.  I 
rumaged  through  the  loges,  on  and  under  the  stage  and 
dressing  rooms,  from  attic  to  cellar  and  found  theatrical 
properties  adapted  to  our  purpose.  In  the  banqueting  hall 
are  fourteen  beds,  and  sixty-one  in  the  theatre  proper. 
On  the  stage  on  one  side  hangs  our  beautiful  flag,  Mrs. 
Gerard  sent  us,  the  German  on  the  other,  and  the  Red 
Cross  flag  in  the  center.  Six  of  us  nurses  sleep  in 
the  soubrette  's  dressing  room,  under  our  Red  Cross  blan- 
kets, which  we  adore.  Cloak-room  racks  covered  with 
brown  paper  make  excellent  screens,  and  we  are  quite 
comfortable  and  happy.  Everyone  has  been  so  kind. 
Think  of  the  unheard  of  luxury  in  Germany  of  'corn  on 
the  cob, '  which  Countess  Oppersdorff  sent  us ;  and  tonight 
we  dine  on  pheasant  from  the  same  kind  donor.  Our 
patients  are  so  interested  in  the  American  way  of  doing 
things,  and  when  we  have  a  moment's  time  want  to  hear 
of  the  sky-scrapers  in  New  York." 

From  Sister  Dorothea  comes  a  letter  to  American 
nurses  in  which  she  says:  "We  have  had  charge  of  the 
most  serious  cases  which  have  come  across  the  border. 
More  than  one  man  came  to  the  hospital  marked  for 
amputation  whose  wounds  were  dressed  and  dressed,  and 
then  wired  and  plated,  so  that  the  patients  left  with 
arms  or  legs  on  the  way  to  recovery.  Tedious  work,  but 

19 


290         UNDER  THE  RED  CROSS  FLAG 

what  it  meant  to  those  poor  fellows  to  be  saved  from  a 
future  crippled  or  maimed  existence  made  it  well  worth 
while.  Out  of  twelve  hundred  cases  I  have  seen  only 
four  amputated  legs,  and  no  amputated  arms.  The  men 
are  so  cheerful,  even  those  totally  disabled.  One  of  them 
said  the  other  day,  'To  be  cheerful  is  the  least  I  can  do, 
when  you  Americans  are  doing  so  much  for  me.'  This 
is  the  spirit  of  all,  and  their  self-control  is  wonderful 
under  dressings  nearly  as  painful  as  operations. 

''The  dressing  gowns  with  the  little  Red  Crosses  are 
so  popular  because  they  came  from  America.  One  poor 
Galician,  whose  language  no  one  could  understand,  ges- 
ticulated for  two  days  before  we  realized  it  was  not  merely 
a  clean  gown  he  wanted,  but  that  it  must  be  an  American 
one.  No  sooner  are  the  men  able  to  be  up  than  they 
wish  their  pictures  taken  with  the  American  doctors 
and  nurses.  They  love  us  for  our  work,  not  as  individ- 
uals, but  as  Americans,  and  their  hearts  go  out  to  the 
country  that  has  made  our  work  possible." 

In  Vienna  still  another  type  of  building,  a  modern 
schoolhouse,  was  converted  into  the  Royal  Auxiliary 
Hospital  Number  8,  and  placed  in  charge  of  our  unit  for 
Austria ;  while  at  Budapest  a  massive  structure  formerly 
used  as  a  blind  asylum  became  the  care  of  the  unit  which 
went  to  Hungary.  In  these  hospitals  also  hundreds  of 
wounded  men  have  been  ministered  to  by  the  American 
Red  Cross  surgeons  and  nurses,  and  the  same  gratitude 
that  has  been  found  elsewhere  was  manifested  here  too. 
There  is  a  little  story  of  a  poor  German  boy  who,  though 
recovered  from  his  wound,  developed  tuberculosis  in  the 
hospital  at  Budapest.  Alone  and  without  friends  or 
money  he  was  going  back  to  a,  sanitarium  in  Germany. 
OUT  good  nurses  raised  among  themselves  a  little  fund 
to  give  him  before  he  left,  but  he  would  not  take  it,  say- 
ing, as  he  wept,  "How  can  I  take  money,  when  I  have 
been  so  kindly  treated?"  But  he  could  not  prevent  the 


THE  SPIRIT  FOR  PEACE  291 

warm-hearted  nurses  sending  the  little  gift  later  anony- 
mously, mailing  it  from  Vienna  so  he  should  not  know  its 
source. 

All  these  simple  pictures  of  war  hospital  scenes  in  this 
great  tragedy  are,  as  Sister  Dorothea  says, ' '  Only  trifling 
details,  and  yet  they  show  the  spirit  which  taken  home 
to  the  family  hearth  is  not  going  to  breed  war,  but  rather 
a  spirit  of  kindliness  and  gratitude, — a  spirit  making 
for  peace  throughout  the  world." 


CHAPTER  XXI 

A  FINNISH  WELCOME.  THE  DOCTOR  BECOMES  A  GENERAL. 
IN  THE  HOSPITAL  AT  KIEF.  THE  EMPEROR.  A  YOUNG 
CRIMEAN  VETERAN.  TWO  CHRISTMAS  DAYS.  A 
ROYAL  VISIT.  ON  THE  SERBIAN  FRONTIER.  BEL- 
GRADE UNDER  FIRE.  WOUNDED  BY  THOUSANDS. 
A  PLACE  IN  HISTORY. 

IT  was  a  long  journey  from  England  to  Kief,  but  not 
without  its  compensation.  Whatever  may  be  the  relations 
between  Russia  and  Finland,  there  can  be  no  doubt  of  the 
welcome  for  the  Red  Cross,  whose  goal  was  a  hospital  for 
wounded  Russian  soldiers.  All  along  the  Finnish  coast, 
at  every  village  station,  the  kindly  people  brought  their 
little  gifts,  and  choruses  of  men's  voices  sang  a  greet- 
ing or  chanted  a  farewell.  It  was  not  easy  to  keep  back 
the  tears  of  an  indescribable  emotion  before  these  tokens 
of  simple  gratitude. 

No  less  warm  than  the  welcome  of  the  countryside  was 
that  of  the  capital  and  the  Empress  Marie  Feodorovna 
at  Petrograd.  The  democracy  of  the  Red  Cross  is  one 
of  its  greatest  glories.  It  appeals  alike  to  the  emperor 
in  his  palace  and  the  peasant  in  his  cottage.  Deeply  in- 
terested, the  officials  provided  Russian  uniforms  for  the 
American  surgeons,  to  insure  the  respect  of  the  soldiery 
and  because  an  unknown  uniform  might  cause  some  em- 
barrassment. Our  surgeon  directors  found  themselves 
suddenly  promoted  to  be  generals,  and  the  junior  doctors 
all  became  colonels.  Later,  when  additional  surgeons 
were  sent  they  sailed  for  Archangel,  and  came  over  the 
wintry  north  land  to  Petrograd  making  the  journey  part 
way  on  sledges. 

Kief  at  last,  and  crowning  the  crest  of  a  beautiful  hill, 
in  the  administration  building  of  a  fine  lyceum  our  Rus- 

292 


OUR  HOSPITAL  AT  KIEF  293 

sian  units  were  installed.  In  his  letters  home  Dr.  Egbert, 
the  chief  director,  speaks  enthusiastically  of  the  location. 
"It  is  beautifully  situated,  and  the  poor  men  when  they 
reach  here  ar6  so  grateful  and  so  child-like  in  their  ex- 
pressions. It  seems  like  heaven  to  them.  They  are  a 
happy  lot  of  patients,  brave  and  uncomplaining.  As  the 
men  go  back  to  the  front  they  tell  their  comrades  if  they 
are  hit  by  any  kind  of  a  trick  to  be  taken  to  the  American 
hospital.  I  love  the  work  and  I  love  the  patients.  They 
are  so  kind  and  thoughtful  to  one  another.  To  my  own 
personal  knowledge  the  Austrian  soldiers  are  kind  to  the 
Russians,  and  the  Russians  are  just  as  kind  to  the  Aus- 
trian prisoners.  I  am  heart  and  soul  in  this  great  work 
America  is  doing  for  Russia  and  America.  I  cannot  yet 
write  about  it,  but  I  am  coming  to  understand  and  to  ap- 
preciate the  vision  beyond. ' '  Of  the  Emperor  he  wrote : 
"When  the  Emperor  came  General  Bryack  introduced 
me  to  him,  and  seeing  me  in  Russian  uniform  he  did  not 
quite  understand,  and  merely  returned  my  salute.  When 
I  spoke  to  him  in  English  a  look  of  amazement  came  over 
his  face  and  his  hand  came  down  from  the  salute  to 
a  warm,  kindly  handshake,  the  sort  that  makes  a  man 
feel  good.  Never  have  I  looked  on  a  face  so  care-worn 
and  so  sad;  never  have  I  been  impressed  with  a  man 
who  seemed  to  embody  less  ostentation  and  so  much  good 
fellowship.  I  know  he  is  a  gentleman,  and  a  man  of  sor- 
rows, and  acquainted  with  grief,  a  man  whose  tastes 
are  simple,  and  whose  heart  is  warm  with  love  for  his  peo- 
ple. Suffering  as  he  was  under  the  mental  and  physical 
fatigue  from  having  visited  and  talked  personally  with 
several  thousands  of  his  wounded  soldiers,  his  gracious 
courtesy  and  brave  self-control  were  perfect. 

' '  It  is  well  worth  while  working  for  the  soldiers  of  such 
a  sovereign.  We  are  performing  all  kinds  of  operations 
on  patients  of  all  ages.  I  must  tell  you  about  one  seventy- 
two  years  old,  who  has  been  decorated  for  valor  for  every 
one  of  his  four  wars.  I  had  my  interpreter  tell  him  he 


294          UNDER  THE  RED  CROSS  FLAG 

was  too  old  to  fight,  he  had  served  his  country  enough 
and  should  go  home  and  play  with  his  grand-children, 
to  which  he  replied:  'I  wish  to  say  to  His  Excellency 
that  I  am  not  old,  only  my  teeth  are  old ;  and  if  it  shall 
please  His  Excellency  the  General  to  command  that  my 
teeth  be  pulled  and  new  ones  put  in  I  will  be  as  young 
as  I  was  in  the  Crimea/  They  are  so  simple  and  child- 
like. They  are  our  children.  This  Red  Cross  work  is 
good  and  I  believe  will  help  as  much  as  anything  else  to 
bring  the  peace  on  earth  we  so  earnestly  pray  for." 

It  is  a  touching  picture  Sister  Helen  draws  of  the 
same  good  Russian  soldiers  and  the  life  in  the  Red  Cross 
Hospital. 

"It  is  when  they  come  to  us  weary,  oh  so  weary,  a 
long  line  of  limping,  feeble  folk,  and  streams  of  stretch- 
ers bearing  the  totally  incapacitated,  that  one  feels  it  is 
war,  and  senses  in  some  small  degree  the  awful  slaugh- 
ter going  on  miles  away.  It  is  a  slaughter  that  wrecks 
thousands  of  lives  and  makes  strong  men  in  a  minute 
as  helpless  and  defenseless  as  babies.  And  when  they 
leave,  I  believe  it's  even  sadder.  With  us  I  am  sure 
these  good  soldiers  are  happy.  It  is  most  gratifying  to 
know  the  affection  that  springs  up  in  their  hearts  for 
all  the  'Amerikansky'  Sisters,  even  with  the  most  queru- 
lous and  irritable,  as  soon  as  they  have  been  here  a  single 
day  or  so! 

"Every  Russian  soldier  who  has  been  here  is  our 
friend  and  grateful  adherent.  And  so  when  orders  come 
for  them  to  leave  it  is  quite  likely  to  be  a  great  sadness 
for  them.  Perhaps  they  go  to  a  convalescent  home  where 
care  and  living  are  very  ordinary,  perhaps  to  a  smaller 
hospital  where  American  methods  do  not  prevail,  rarely 
it  is  for  a  period  at  home,  and  occasionally  it's  'to  the 
front.' 

' '  And  when  we  see  them  all  ready  to  go  forth  to,  God 
knows  what  fate!  the  dirty,  bloody  battle  clothes  upon 
them,  perhaps  an  arm  or  leg  or  foot  gone,  an  eye  or  part 


TWO  CHRISTMAS  DAYS  295 

of  the  jaw,  or  some  other  serious  disfigurement,  or  perma- 
nent disability,  it  makes  one  heartsick.  When  they  come 
to  know  we  could  help  them  for  a  while,  now  as  they  go 
from  us  we  know  it  will  be  hardship  and  suffering  for 
them  at  best. 

"From  a  box  sent  by  the  American  Red  Cross  we 
had  a  few  pairs  of  hose,  lenghts  of  flannel  for  cholera 
bands,  and  outing  flannel  pajama  suits.  It  has  been  such 
a  joy  to  fit  up  some  of  the  neediest  of  the  outgoing 
ones  with  a  warm  garment  or  two.  One,  a  young  man 
who  had  a  lung  injury,  and  who  was  thin  and  poor,  was 
given  one  of  the  beautiful  pajama  suits,  his  mother  stand- 
ing by,  weeping  for  very  joy  and  gratitude.  I  now  have 
a  lot  of  warm  flannel  squares  for  the  feet  and  some 
beautiful  long  wool  hose  and  mittens. 

"There  are  times  when  to  use  the  same  qualifying 
adjective  for  a  Sistine  Madonna  or  a  sunset  and  a  pair 
of  wool  hose  and  a  pajaina  suit  would  seem  quite  out  of 
order,  but  not  so  here  and  now,  where  even  the  most 
gorgeous  of  paintings  or  sunsets  don't  count. 

"There  are  thirty-five  good  fellows  leaving  today. 
What  a  joy  it  would  be  if  you  could  only  see  and  hear 
them.  And  we  don't  need  any  extensive  knowledge  of 
Russian  to  know  they  leave  us  with  their  everlasting 
gratitude  and  blessings.  And  it  is  indeed  a  blessed 
privilege  to  serve  them.  Our  orderlies,  the  soldiers 
appointed  for  all  this  work  here  with  us,  are  good 
fellows  too.  We  nurses  gave  them  for  Christmas  each 
an  Ingersoll  watch  (or  the  European  as-near-could-be 
equal,  which  I  fear  is  pretty  poor) ,  and  now  as  they  go 
home  for  brief  vacations  we  try  to  send  little  gifts  to 
the  wives  and  babies,  and  there  are  always  plenty  of 
these  babies. 

"The  difference  between  the  Russian  calendar  and 
our  calendar  gives  us  two  Christmases  and  two  New 
Years,  and  all  these  occasions  were  quite  merry.  On 
our  American  Christmas  eve  the  soldiers  peering  over 


296  UNDER  THE  RED  CROSS  FLAG 

the  balustrade  were  invited  in  and  enjoyed  all  our  fun 
quite  as  much,  as  we  did.  For  their  Christmas  there  was 
a  tree  /and  presents  provided  for  all  the  patients,  candy, 
cigarettes,  handkerchiefs,  etc.  A  magician  and  Russian 
singer  and  balalaika  player  gave  a  taking  program  first, 
and  then  the  gifts  were  passed  and  all  were  happy. 

"The  great  event  of  the  season  was  Czar  Nicholas' 
visit  to  Kief.  It  had  long  been  rumored  he  was  com- 
ing, but  he  came  not,  and  then  at  length  they  said  he 
truly  was  coming  Tuesday,  the  9th.  And  the  way  the 
orderlies  were  started  to  working  made  it  seem  there  was 
this  time  some  truth  in  the  statement.  "We  had  a  grand 
cleaning  up  when  we  moved  in  here,  with  additional  em- 
bellishments for  our  'opening,'  and  now  after  the  lapse 
of  two  months  or  more  I  was  glad  to  see  this  unusual  dili- 
gence again  everywhere.  One  chandelier  received  spe- 
cial attention  which  the  electrician  said  had  never  in  its 
fourteen  years  been  cleaned  before. 

''No  one  knew  that  the  Czar  would  come  to  our  his- 
pital,  but  anyhow  we  all  rejoiced  over  the  preparations. 
Tuesday  he  arrived  in  town  and  many  saw  him,  though 
none  went  from  our  hospital.  We  waited  and  hoped, 
but  at  four  o  'clock  instead  a  '  high-up '  general  came  with 
the  medals  to  be  distributed  and  with  the  Czar's  regrets. 
"We  were  disappointed  that  he  didn't  come  to  us.  The 
general  gave  medals  to  the  most  seriously  wounded,  or 
rather  a  few  of  them.  "We  received  word  that  by  imperial 
decree  we  American  doctors  and  nurses  were  to  be  at 
the  station  to  see  His  Majesty,  and  his  failure  to  come 
here  was  therefore  not  quite  so  disappointing.  So  at  five 
o'clock  we  all  left  in  sleighs.  Fortunately  we  had  been 
advised  to  wear  our  caps  and  full  uniforms,  and  these 
were  much  prettier  than  our  coats,  which  are  ugly  and 
shabby  now. 

"Many  of  the  ladies  were  in  full  dress  and  the  men 
in  full  court  uniform,  among  whom  were  the  gentlemen 


A  ROYAL  VISIT  297 

of  the  Czar's  chamber.  One  personage  from  whose  gor- 
geousness  we  could  scarcely  take  our  eyes  was  a  Cossack 
in  the  most  splendid  trappings  mortal  mind  could  pos- 
sibly conceive. 

"We  were  stationed  in  the  first  room  from  the  en- 
trance, the  doctors  first  and  then  we  three  supervisors 
next.  We  waited  long,  perhaps  one  and  a  half  hours,  but 
the  coming  of  so  many  people  helped  to  make  it  less 
wearisome. 

"At  length  we  knew  the  Czar  was  near  for  the 
shouts  of  the  people  who  had  been  waiting  outside  to  see 
him  all  this  time.  And  soon  an  automobile  drew  up  from 
which  he  descended — the  Czar  of  all  the  Russias! — 
looking  very  simple  in  the  same  identical  colonel's  uni- 
form such  as  our  younger  doctors  are  wearing.  Dr.  Eg- 
bert being  a  general  the  Czar  saluted  him.  At  first  he 
didn't  grasp  just  who  we  were.  But  it  was  a  positive 
joy  to  see  his  face  light  up  with  unmistakable  pleasure 
when  the  Red  Cross  official  said  we  were  Americans. 
He  shook  hands  with  all  the  doctors  and  spoke  briefly 
with  them,  then  with  the  three  supervisors,  and  I  found 
myself  talking  to  him. 

"He  was  so  friendly,  so  simple,  and  had  such  a  nice 
kindly  face  and  gentle  way.  The  first  thing  he  said  to 
me  was,  'I'm  sorry  to  have  kept  you  waiting  so  long.' 
Wasn't  that  unselfish  of  him?  Then  he  asked  where  our 
hospital  was,  said  he  had  heard  about  it,  and  thanked 
us  'for  the  good  care  you  are  giving  my  soldiers.'  He 
talked  with  many  as  he  went  down  the  line  and  won  us 
all  by  his  directness  and  simplicity. 

"I  am  sure  the  other  people  present  were  surprised 
to  see  how  much  attention  he  gave  us  and  how  friendly 
he  was. 

' '  After  us  he  greeted  the  soldiers  with  a  few  speeches, 
and  in  a  trice  was  in  his  car  and  from  the  platform 
waved  farewell,  while  the  soldiers  sent  up  cheer  after 
cheer. 


298  UNDER  THE  RED  CROSS  FLAG 

"One  nice  little  story  told  of  him  was  that  at  the 
railway  station  hospital  which  he  had  visited  just  before 
he  came  to  us  he  found  a  mere  boy  of  a  soldier  who  was 
wounded,  whom  he  took  in  his  arms  and  kissed.  I  'm  sure 
he  has  a  kind  heart.  He  shows  it  in  his  face.  And  I 
can  say  'Long  live  the  Czar'  with  sincerity." 

Nowhere  were  conditions  more  appalling  in  the 
earlier  days  of  the  war  than  in  Serbia.  To  a  little  town 
near  the  frontier  went  an  American  nurse,  and  her  pen 
graphically  depicts  the  situation  which  existed  there. 

' '  The  barracks  were  filled  with  a  thousand  rough  iron 
cots  on  which  lay  straw  mattresses.  We  had  none  of  the 
conveniences  of  an  ordinary  hospital,  not  even  running 
water.  All  had  to  be  carted  from  the  village,  half  an 
hour's  journey  away.  So  little  for  laundry  could  be 
spared  we  were  allowed  for  each  bed  one  clean  sheet  in 
ten  days.  Twelve  hundred  patients  and  we  were  only 
two  surgeons,  eight  nurses  and  some  five  hospital  order- 
lies !  Often  we  have  to  put  two  beds  together  to  accom- 
modate three  patients. 

"The  language  was  one  of  the  difficulties,  and  I  re- 
member standing  appalled  as  batch  after  batch  of  freshly 
wounded  were  brought  in,  wondering  how  the  few  words 
of  Serbian  I  knew  would  carry  me  through.  Passing 
through  one  of  the  corridors,  I  stopped  on  seeing  a  man 
try  to  get  a  better  position  for  his  leg,  which  had  been  ter- 
ribly smashed.  I  moved  it  a  little  and  was  surprised  to 
hear  him  say,  '  Him  leg  not  much  good.  Pretty  bad. '  I 
quickly  asked  him  if  he  spoke  English,  to  which  he  re- 
plied, 'No,  American.'  He  had  worked  three  years  in  a 
Colorado  mine.  Profiting  by  this  experience,  I  went 
through  the  wards  inquiring  for  anyone  who  spoke 
'American'  and  fortunately  found  a  man  who  was 
slightly  injured  and  who  had  been  in  America  ten  years. 
So  'George'  became  my  head  interpreter.  Our  own 
efforts  at  Serbian  were  hardly  a  success.  I  asked  one 
man,  as  I  thought,  to  open  his  mouth,  but  learned  from 


ON  THE  SERBIAN  FRONTIER  299 

the  shrieks  of  laughter  of  the  entire  ward  that  I  had 
said  'Open  your  window  and  put  out  your  tongue.' 

"Our  wounded  generally  come  at  two  or  three  in 
the  morning,  brought  on  stretchers  or  rude  ox-carts, 
eighty  or  one  hundred  at  a  time,  tired,  cold  and  hungry, 
with  only  a  temporary  bandage  on  their  wounds  that  had 
often  received  no  other  care  for  a  week  or  ten  days. 
The  minor  operations  are  all  done  without  anaesthetics. 
Poor  men !  For  these  were  so  scarce  they  must  be  saved 
for  major  cases.  Often  we  are  short  of  everything. 
Wounds  that  should  have  been  dressed  daily  are  some- 
times done  only  once  in  nine  days.  Of  absorbent  cotton 
there  is  little  left,  and  no  adhesive  plaster  has  been  seen 
for  weeks." 

Later,  on  her  way  home,  a  glimpse  of  the  hospital  at 
Belgrade  under  our  American  Red  Cross  unit,  with  its 
complete  equipment,  filled  this  nurse's  heart  with  joy. 
"It  seemed  so  wonderful,  as  Miss  Gladwin  took  us  on 
her  round,  to  hear  her  call  a  sufferer  by  name  and  say  a 
few  words  of  comfort  to  him.  Almost  a  look  of  adora- 
tion spread  from  face  to  face  as  she  passed  along.  They 
all  love  the  'Sestras  Americana.'  We  have  read  of 
the  wonderful  experience  of  Florence  Nightingale  at 
Scutari,  not  so  far  from  here ;  and  it  is  a  privilege  for 
us  in  a  small  measure  to  realize  some  of  this  here  in 
Serbia." 

It  was  at  Belgrade  that  the  doctors  and  nurses  of  the 
little  Red  Cross  unit  were  actually  on  the  firing  line; 
there  that  they  witnessed  the  taking  of  the  city  by  the 
Austrians  and  its  reoccupation  by  the  Serbians.  Dr. 
Ryan,  our  director,  tells  the  story  himself. 

"At  Valjevo,  after  talking  over  the  situation  with 
Dr.  Gentitch,  he  asked  me  if  we  were  afraid  to  go  to 
Belgrade,  seeing  that  the  Austrians  were  still  bombard- 
ing the  town  and  there  was  a  certain  amount  of  danger. 
The  Crown  Prince  asked  me  the  same  question.  I  told 
him  our  instructions  were  to  report  to  the  officials  here 


300  UNDER  THE  RED  CROSS  FLAG 

for  orders,  and  if  they  wanted  us  to  go  to  Belgrade  and 
we  were  needed  there  we  were  perfectly  willing  to  go. 
We  arrived  here  October  fifteenth  and  found  this  fine 
hospital  in  a  terrible  condition,  as  it  had  not  been  cleaned 
for  months  and  was  full  of  patients.  After  six  weeks 
of  very  hard  work  we  had  an  ideal  hospital,  and  it 
remained  so  until  the  advent  of  the  Austrians,  when  we 
were  overrun  with  thousands  of  wounded. 

' '  I  have  been  director  of  all  the  hospitals  in  Belgrade 
since  the  last  of  November  and  have  under  my  care  five 
hospitals,  with  about  forty  buildings,  nine  Serbian  doc- 
tors, one  hundred  and  fifty  nurses  and  twelve  hundred 
patients.  On  the  second  of  December  the  Austrians  came 
in.  Two  days  before  this  the  Serbians  came  to  me  at 
two  o'clock  in  the  morning  and  said  that  they  were 
going  away,  but  I  was  supposed  to  remain  in  charge  of 
all  the  hospitals.  You  can  imagine  my  feelings.  No 
authorities  were  left  in  the  city  and  as  there  were  many 
robbers  about  many  of  the  stores  were  broken  into  and 
looted.  There  was  also  a  good  deal  of  shooting  in  the 
streets.  Early  in  the  morning  of  the  first  day  a  number 
of  people  came  to  me  for  protection,  claiming  that  their 
houses  had  been  broken  into  during  the  night,  and  as 
there  were  no  police  of  any  kind  the  situation  was  rather 
serious.  As  this  condition  was  allowed  to  go  on  until 
the  afternoon  without  any  attempt  to  remedy  it  I  became 
alarmed.  I  left  the  hospital  about  three  o'clock  and  went 
to  see  some  of  the  men  I  had  met  before  the  evacuation. 
Others  were  called  in,  and  I  asked  them  what  they  in- 
tended to  do.  They  replied  they  did  not  know,  as  they 
were  not  officials  and  had  no  authority  to  act.  They  sup- 
posed they  would  have  to  wait  until  the  Austrians  came. 
I  suggested  a  citizens  committee  which  would  have  power 
to  appoint  policemen  and  run  the  town  until  someone 
came  to  take  over  the  government.  This  plan  was  carried 
out  with  fairly  good  results,  and  while  there  was  still 


AT  THE  BELGRADE  HOSPITALS  301 

looting  and  shooting,  with  many  deaths,  without  some- 
thing of  this  kind  the  situation  would  have  been  too  ter- 
rible for  description.  Many  people  were  being  held  up 
in  broad  daylight,  and  it  was  necessary  to  do  something, 
especially  for  the  poor  people,  who  had  no  food.  Some 
six  thousand  had  to  be  fed,  and  as  I  had  not  enough  for 
the  patients  at  the  hospitals  it  made  it  very  hard.  I  did 
get  some  bread  for  a  few  of  them,  but  I  was  very  glad 
to  see  somebody  come  in  who  could  furnish  food.  I 
visited  the  hospitals  and  sent  men  out  into  the  country 
to  bring  in  all  the  food  they  could  lay  their  hands  on. 
But  before  their  return  the  Austrians  arrived.  I  called 
on  the  commanding  general,  explained  that  I  was  left  in 
charge  of  the  hospitals,  and  asked  him  to  give  or  sell  me 
sufficient  food  for  them.  He  promised  to  do  all  in  his 
power  for  me,  but  feared  it  would  not  be  much,  as  he  was 
having  difficulty  in  providing  food  for  his  army,  which 
had  been  without  bread  for  thirty-six  hours.  He  did, 
however,  send  me  food  later. 

"About  forty-eight  hours  after  the  first  troops  en- 
tered the  city  the  wounded  began  to  arrive,  and  it  seemed 
as  if  they  would  never  stop  coming.  We  worked  day  and 
night  until  we  could  no  longer  continue,  and  I  ordered 
all  the  nurses  to  bed  as  I  could  see  no  end  to  it.  We  had 
wounded  men  everywhere,  thousands  of  them,  with  others 
piling  in  on  top  of  us  all  of  the  time.  Our  nerves  after 
the  first  few  days,  especially  the  nurses',  were  all  gone  to 
smash.  Starting  our  day  at  six  o'clock  in  the  morning 
we  would  dress,  dress,  dress  wounds  all  day,  putting  the 
operations  off  until  night.  About  nine  o  'clock  we  would 
start  to  operate,  and  work  right  on  until  five  or  six  in 
the  morning.  Many  nights  we  got  no  sleep  at  all,  and 
never  more  than  three  hours.  The  halls  and  floors  of 
wards,  and  every  place  a  man  could  fit  in,  we  had  filled. 
The  beds  in  the  ward  were  all  put  side  by  side,  and  in- 
stead of  seeing  beds,  all  you  could  see  was  a  mass  of 


302          UNDER  THE  RED  CROSS  FLAG 

suffering  humanity.  It  is  not  easy  to  describe  the  con- 
ditions at  that  time,  as  it  seems  now  more  or  less  like  a 
nightmare.  We  had  in  this  hospital  for  several  days 
three  thousand,  and  one  day  we  had  in  the  grounds  nine 
thousand  wounded  men.  I  had  then  to  beg  the  Austrian 
officials  to  send  some  of  them  to  the  hospitals  in  Hungary, 
as  it  was  impossible  to  care  for  so  many.  They  began 
sending  them  off  after  this,  which  was  a  very  good  thing. 
Some  of  the  wounds  had  not  been  dressed  in  several  days, 
and  it  was  making  everyone  nervous  as  passing  through 
halls  or  rooms  every  man  would  cry  out  to  be  dressed,  or 
given  morphine,  or  killed,  or  something.  As  they  were 
always  crying  out  with  pain  you  could  not  get  away 
from  it  no  matter  in  what  part  of  the  hospital  you  were, 
and  it  appeared  all  the  time  to  be  getting  worse  until 
nearly  the  end  it  seemed  as  if  we  would  all  go  mad. 
One  of  the  nurses  was  taken  suddenly  ill  just  at  that 
time  with  pneumonia,  which  was  very  severe,  and  when 
scarlet  fever  also  developed  I  felt  that  the  end  of  the 
world  had  come  for  I  did  not  think  it  possible  that  there 
could  be  so  many  things  in  the  world  for  a  man  to  worry 
about  at  once.  But  thank  the  Lord  she  has  fully  recov- 
ered and  is  now  about  again. 

' '  Suddenly  the  order  came  to  evacuate.  On  the  thir- 
teenth we  could  hear  cannon  in  the  distance,  and  the 
morning  of  the  fourteenth  the  cannonading  was  very 
much  closer.  By  eleven  one  could  see  the  shells  bursting 
on  the  hillside.  By  one  o'clock  the  battle  was  raging  on 
the  outskirts  of  the  city  and  it  seemed  as  if  all  the  can- 
non and  rifles  in  the  world  were  being  fired  off  at  once 
right  around  Belgrade.  It  became  worse  as  the  day 
went  on,  until  at  dark  shells  were  bursting  everywhere. 
The  streets  were  jammed  with  cannon,  soldiers,  supply 
wagons,  horses,  and  everything  else  going  for  the  bridges 
that  would  take  them  across  the  River  Save  to  safety. 
They  continued  the  retreat  until  next  morning,  when 


A  PLACE  IN  SERBIAN  HISTORY          303 

the  Serbians  destroyed  the  bridges,  leaving  all  who  had 
not  gotten  across  as  prisoners  on  this  side.  About  five 
hundred  Austrian  wounded  were  left  in  my  care. 

"America  and  the  American  Red  Cross  will  go  down 
in  Serbian  history,  and  I  am  sure  they  will  occupy  the 
most  prominent  page  in  the  evacuation  and  reoccupation 
of  Belgrade.  It  gives  you  a  funny  little  feeling  in  your 
throat  when  you  hear  them  shouting  'vivas'  for  the 
American  Red  Cross  as  you  pass  along  the  street." 


CHAPTER  XXII 

AN  INVASION  OF  TYPHUS.  THE  ROCKEFELLER  FOUN- 
DATION OFFERS  HELP.  DR.  STRONG  AGAIN  TO  THE 
FRONT.  THE  AMERICAN  RED  CROSS  SANITARY  COM- 
MISSION. DISINFECTING  A  NATION.  OVER  THE 
MOUNTAINS  TO  MONTENEGRO.  CONQUEST  OF  THE 
FEVER.  WITH  THE  TURKISH  ARMY.  A  DESERT 
HOSPITAL.  ON  CAMEL  AMBULANCE  TO  JERUSALEM. 

ONE  day  there  came  to  the  American  Red  Cross  from 
Mr.  Bicknell,  who  was  with  the  Rockefeller  Commis- 
sion in  Europe,  a  cable  into  which  was  compressed  a 
tale  of  national  woe:  "Typhus  epidemic  overshadows 
everything  else."  Into  the  cities  and  towns  of  Serbia 
were  huddled  refugees  by  thousands  from  the  north. 
Schoolhouses,  convents  and  all  other  buildings  were  so 
crowded  that  neither  health  nor  sanitary  conditions 
received  any  consideration.  Two  previous  wars  had 
brought  such  destitution  that  the  people  were  an  easy 
prey  to  typhus,  typhoid  and  re-occurrent  fevers.  Small- 
pox and  scarlet  fever  had  appeared.  The  greatly  dreaded 
cholera  threatened  to  develop  with  the  coming  summer. 
Already  fifteen  of  the  eighteen  surgeons  and  nurses  of 
our  later  Red  Cross  units  sent  to  Serbia,  who  had  been 
stationed  at  Ghevgheli  in  a  vast  tobacco  factory  con- 
verted into  a  hospital,  had  developed  typhus  fever.  Four 
hundred  of  the  twelve  hundred  patients  in  their  charge 
were  ill  with  this  disease,  and  escape  became  impossible. 

Dr.  James  F.  Donnelly  and  Dr.  Ernest  P.  Magruder, 
two  of  our  courageous  surgeons,  succumbed  to  the  fever. 
They  gave  their  lives  for  their  fellow  men,  and  more  can 
no  man  give.  On  their  graves,  in  the  far-away  Balkan 
land,  where  the  flowers  are  few,  "I  always  find,"  said  one 
of  the  nurses,  "  fresh  leaves  and  green  branches  ten- 
derly placed  by  the  grateful  people." 

304 


DR.  STRONG  IN  MONTENEGRO          305 

Here  was  a  great  field  of  work, — one  full  of  danger 
and  calling  for  rare  courage.  The  Rockefeller  Founda- 
tion offered  to  the  American  Red  Cross  generous  financial 
aid  if  it  would  undertake  the  work  of  suppressing  the 
fever.  To  one  whose  brave  services  in  Manchuria  gave 
assurance,  the  Red  Cross  turned — to  Dr.  Richard  P. 
Strong.  He  had  faced  the  danger  of  the  pneumonic 
plague  fearlessly,  and  again  at  the  call  left  his  professor- 
ship of  tropical  diseases  at  Harvard  University  to  go  to 
the  front ;  and  with  him  went  a  corps  of  splendid  men, — 
physicians,  bacteriologists,  clinical  experts  and  sanitar- 
ians,— men  who  knew  the  danger  that  they  faced,  and 
knowing  went.  Immense  stores  for  the  disinfecting  of  a 
nation  were  forwarded  to  Serbia.  With  Mr.  BickneH's 
aid  Dr.  Strong  secured  the  co-operation  of  the  English, 
French  and  Russian  missions  then  in  Serbia.  An  inter- 
national Health  Board  consisting  of  their  chiefs  and 
Serbian  medical  authorities  was  organized,  of  which  be- 
cause of  his  tried  ability  Dr.  Strong  was  made  the  direc- 
tor. This  terrible  scourge  of  typhus  that  had  already 
slain  over  a  hundred  of  the  four  hundred  Serbian  doctors, 
thousands  of  her  people,  and  great  numbers  of  the 
Austrian  prisoners,  has  been  checked. 

Sir  Thomas  Lipton  after  his  second  trip  to  Serbia 
wrote  to  the  American  Red  Cross:  "I  could  hardly  be- 
lieve that  in  such  a  short  time  the  staff  you  have  sent 
out  here  could  have  made  such  a  change.  The  terrible 
sights  that  I  witnessed  when  I  was  in  Serbia  the  first 
time  are  now  finished.  The  work  that  has  been  per- 
formed by  Dr.  Strong  and  his  staff  has  been  miraculous. ' ' 

From  Montenegro  came  an  urgent  appeal  to  cross  the 
mountains  and  go  to  the  aid  of  her  fever-threatened 
people.  A  few  leaves  of  Dr.  Strong's  diary  letter  gives 
us  a  vivid  glimpse  of  this  field  of  Red  Cross  work. 

"After  an  inspection  of  the  hospitals,  barracks  and 
town  of  Metrovitza,  Serbia,  and  learning  what  was 
needed,  we  had  a  hasty  luncheon  and  at  three  o'clock  in 
20 


306  UNDER  THE  RED  CROSS  FLAG 

the  afternoon  (this  is  late  in  May)  started  out  on  horse- 
back for  Pech,  Montenegro.  My  party  consisted  of  Mr. 
Brink,  our  sanitary  inspector,  a  Serbian  gendarme  and 
my  interpreter.  It  began  raining  about  four  o'clock  and 
continued  to  do  so  almost  the  entire  night.  We  were  wet 
through.  I  expected  to  have  a  carriage  meet  me  on  the 
border  between  Serbia  and  Montenegro.  It  was  raining 
heavily  when  we  arrived  there  and  there  was  no  car- 
riage. "We  went  on  anyhow.  Dawn  comes  very  early 
in  this  part  of  the  world  this  time  of  year.  At  three- 
thirty  o'clock  in  the  morning,  although  it  was  raining, 
I  could  see  clearly  enough  to  tell  the  time  by  my  watch. 
We  rode  into  Pech  at  five  A.M.,  having  been  in  the 
saddle  or  on  foot  for  more  than  fourteen  hours.  My 
gendarme  made  a  sorry  appearance  as  we  rode  into  the 
village. 

"In  Pech  we  did  not  find  attractive  quarters  at  the 
hotel;  in  fact,  they  were  most  insanitary,  and,  to  be 
truthful,  there  was  no  place  to  wash  or  make  one's  toilet. 
I  sat  down  and  waited  in  the  yard.  By  half  past  six 
o'clock  we  found  and  roused  the  Doctor  and  with  him 
I  went  immediately  to  inspect  the  hospital.  Here  I 
found  conditions  in  a  dreadful  and  very  alarming  state. 
On  entering  the  hospital  I  saw  in  the  first  room  many 
piles  of  clothing  which  had  been  removed  from  the 
typhus  cases.  These  lay  on  the  floor  and  crawling  over 
them  and  upon  the  floor  in  the  vicinity  there  were  liter- 
ally thousands  of  lice.  I  have  never  seen  so  many  before. 
The  hospital  had  some  two  hundred  and  fifty  typhus 
cases  and  they  were  all  badly  neglected.  The  wards 
themselves  were  in  a  dreadful  condition.  There  were  no 
disinfectants  and  no  means  for  bathing  the  patients  and 
no  clean  clothes  or  bedding  for  them. 

"At  eight-thirty  A.M.  I  met  the  Prefect,  who  is  a 
first  cousin  of  the  King,  and  the  Commander  General  at 
Pech,  and  had  a  long  interview  with  them.  I  then  went 
to  visit  the  barracks  in  different  parts  of  the  town  where 


DR.  STRONG  IN  MONTENEGRO         307 

the  soldiers  were  quartered.  After  this  I  had  another 
long  interview  with  the  General  and  Prefect  and  we  pre- 
pared a  list  of  what  seemed  needed  in  Pech  for  Sanitary 
work  and  for  the  hospitals.  I  knew  that  unless  stringent 
measures  were  immediately  taken  here  typhus  would 
probably  spread  rapidly  and  another  epidemic  result,  as 
in  Serbia.  I  have  arranged  to  disinfect  the  hospitals,  the 
patients  and  their  clothes.  "We  shall  place  the  troops 
that  are  now  in  barracks  in  tents  while  we  are  disin- 
fecting their  former  quarters,  clothes  and  bedding.  I 
have  supplies,  clean  underclothes  and  night  shirts  for  all 
the  patients  in  the  hospital  and  have  quarantined  Pech. 

"I  am  sending  Dr.  Grinnell  and  Mr.  de  la  Pena  to 
take  charge  at  Pech,  and  with  them  will  go  a  large  quan- 
tity of  disinfectants,  bath  tubs,  etc.  I  think  Grinnell  is 
just  the  man  to  take  hold  of  this  difficult  proposition.  I 
do  not  know  whether  you  can  quite  realize  the  impor- 
tance of  trying  to  prevent  immediately  the  further  spread 
of  this  disease  in  Montenegro. 

"After  a  quick  lunch  in  Pech  at  one  o'clock  in  the 
afternoon  we  left  by  carriage  and  arrived  at  Decani  two 
hours  later.  I  found  here  several  thousand  soldiers  quar- 
tered in  a  monastery  with  a  Serbian  priest  caring  for 
them  the  best  he  could.  I  promised  to  send  him  disinfect- 
ants and  expert  assistance.  Cases  of  typhus  were  devel- 
oping among  the  men  who  had  come  there  from  Pech. 
After  spending  about  an  hour  and  a  half  we  continued 
travelling  in  our  carriages  until  eight  o'clock  at  night. 
It  was  then  quite  dark  and  Mr.  Brink  and  I  decided  to 
camp  and  spend  the  night  in  the  open,  sending  the  two 
carriages  with  the  guards  and  the  interpreter  on  to 
town,  an  hour's  travel  distant. 

"I  forgot  to  mention  that  I  had  an  escort  of  six 
gendarmes  with  me  because  we  were  passing  through  a 
territory  which  is  on  the  Albanian  border  and  the  Al- 
banians are  very  unfriendly  to  the  Montenegrins.  The 
gendarme  in  command  begged  me  not  to  camp  in  the 


308          UNDER  THE  RED  CROSS  FLAG 

open,  saying  it  was  very  dangerous  to  do  so.  However, 
as  I  had  not  slept  for  twenty-eight  hours  I  did  not  feel 
like  going  on  at  that  hour  of  the  night  and  spending  it  at 
the  infected  hotel.  We  therefore  insisted  on  remaining 
that  night  in  the  open.  A  camp  fire  was  started  and 
Mr.  Brink  made  some  coffee  and  fried  some  bacon.  This 
we  ate,  together  with  a  tin  of  salmon  and  some  biscuits. 

' '  Our  meal  had  hardly  been  finished  before  a  curious 
incident  happened.  A  man,  screaming  with  all  his  lung- 
power,  came  running  into  our  vicinity,  chased  by  an 
Albanian  with  a  rifle  in  his  hands.  This  man  claimed, 
as  we  found  out  later,  that  the  Albanian  was  trying  to 
kill  him.  It  seems  the  Albanian  had  seen  our  camp  fire 
and  had  crossed  the  border  to  find  out  what  it  meant. 
We  gave  him  something  to  eat  and  he  at  once  became  very 
friendly.  By  signs  he  intimated  to  us  we  should  put 
the  camp  fire  out  and  lie  down  and  go  to  sleep.  In  fact, 
he  several  times  tried  to  put  the  fire  out  himself  and 
kept  pointing  to  the  Albanian  frontier,  every  once  in  a 
while  raising  his  rifle  to  his  shoulder  as  if  about  to  fire, 
indicating,  we  presumed,  that  we  were  in  danger. 

"As  the  rain  was  now  pouring  down  we  decided  to 
go  to  bed.  We  had  no  tents  with  us,  but  had  the  canvas 
covers  for  our  hammocks.  We  spread  our  bedding  on 
the  ground  and  then  climbed  under  the  canvas.  The 
rain  fell  heavily  all  night  long.  I  was  wet  through  and 
found  next  morning  that  my  pocketbook  had  been  so 
badly  soaked  that  my  passport  which  it  contained  was 
damaged  and  the  pigment  on  the  red  seal  had  smeared  on 
the  paper.  We  heard  some  shooting  in  the  night,  but  no 
shots  were  exchanged.  A  little  before  four  A.M.  we 
crawled  out  of  our  beds.  It  was  still  raining.  We 
rolled  up  the  water-soaked  bedding  and  left  it  there  on 
the  plain  to  be  sent  for,  and  started  on  our  walk  to  the 
town  of  Djakovitza,  which  we  reached  about  5.45  o'clock. 
The  commanding  officer  in  the  town  was  scandalized  to 
hear  that  we  had  camped  in  the  open  on  the  Albanian 


CONQUEST  OF  THE  FEVER  309 

border.  He  said  it  not  only  was  very  unsafe,  but  that 
no  one  had  done  such  a  thing  for  many  years ;  that  our 
experience  would  go  down  in  history.  We,  however, 
preferred  to  take  the  risk  of  being  shot,  to  sleeping  in  a 
typhus-infected  hotel. 

"  The  prefect  and  the  commanding  officer  went  with 
us  on  a  round  of  inspection  of  the  hospitals,  barracks 
and  of  Djakovitza  generally.  Typhus  had  broken  out 
here  too  among  troops  that  had  come  from  Pech.  I  at 
once  arranged  to  have  all  people  coming  this  way  from 
Pech  intercepted  and  held  in  quarantine  ten  days. 

"Having  investigated  the  needs  of  the  town,  I  at  once 
purchased  a  thousand  kilos  of  lime  from  a  neighboring 
village  and  arranged  to  send  a  quantity  of  disinfectants 
and  further  medical  assistance.  The  prefect  had  no 
money  with  which  to  purchase  such  necessities.  We 
left  this  town  about  three  o'clock  in  the  afternoon  by 
carriage  for  Prizren.  The  country  throughout  Monte- 
negro, as  in  Serbia,  is  very  hilly  or  mountainous,  but 
whether  one  goes  by  carriage  or  horseback  he  must  do  a 
great  deal  of  walking  up  the  hills.  Prizren  is  located  at 
the  foot  of  snow-clad  mountains  and  many  beautiful 
mountain  streams  run  through  the  place.  Arriving  there 
at  nine  o'clock  at  night,  I  found  there  were  but  three 
doctors,  one  of  whom  was  down  with  typhus  and  another 
just  convalescing  from  it.  The  hospitals,  three  in  num- 
ber, were  all  in  a  very  insanitary  condition,  with  prac- 
tically no  disinfectants  to  be  had.  We  spent  the  night 
at  the  residence  of  a  Serbian  professor  of  theology,  who 
looked  after  our  comfort  as  well  as  he  could.  The  fol- 
lowing afternoon  we  left  by  carriage  for  Ferrosovitz  and 
arrived  at  9.30  P.  M. 

"We  spent  the  night  there,  retiring  at  10.30  rather 
tired,  after  having  arranged  for  a  handcar  with  which 
to  make  the  journey  via  the  railroad  track  the  following 
morning.  This  had  to  be  done  because  I  was  anxious  to 
get  back  to  Skoplje  (Uskub)  as  quickly  as  possible  to 


310  UNDER  THE  RED  CROSS  FLAG 

start  a  relief  expedition  out,  and  there  would  be  no  train 
going  untiLthe  next  afternoon  and  no  engine  was  available. 
We  were  indeed  fortunate  to  find  a  handcar.  On  Satur- 
day morning,  May  23,  we  rose  at  3.30  o'clock  and  by  four 
o'clock  were  making  our  way  on  the  handcar.  Our  car 
proved  unruly,  for  after  we  had  been  running  about  an 
hour  one  of  the  iron  thwarts  which  hold  the  wooden 
handlebar,  by  means  of  which  the  car  is  propelled,  sud- 
denly broke.  Happily  we  were  running  down  hill  at  the 
time  and  could  keep  the  car  going  until  we  reached  the 
next  station.  Here  we  were  fortunate  to  find  a  black- 
smith and  within  an  hour  he  had  welded  the  broken 
parts  of  the  handle-bar  together.  We  were  able  thus  to 
reach  Skoplje  by  ten  o'clock  in  the  morning. 

"In  Skoplje  I  found  enough  work  to  keep  me  busy 
for  the  rest  of  the  day.  It  was  a  disappointment  to  learn 
that  nothing  had  been  done  towards  the  building  of  a 
bathing  establishment  which  I  had  offered  to  pay  for. 
I  learned  from  the  Serbian  doctor  that  it  would  cost  con- 
siderably more  than  they  had  previously  thought  it 
would.  I  have,  however,  arranged  to  begin  its  construc- 
tion immediately,  and  have  the  General's  promise  that 
he  will  have  the  work  completed  as  soon  as  possible. 

"May  25,  Tuesday,  Nish.  We  left  Skoplje  by  train 
Monday  night  at  eight  o'clock  and  arrived  at  Nish  at 
5.30  this  morning.  You  see  I  am  living  up  to  my  habit 
of  stopping  only  one  night  at  one  place. 

' '  I  spent  several  hours  to-day  with  Sir  Thomas  Lipton, 
and  dined  quietly  with  Sir  Ralph  Paget  this  evening, 
when  we  discussed  the  coming  session  of  the  International 
Health  Board  which  was  to  take  place  the  next  morning. 
I  assure  you  our  meals  are  very  simple  affairs. 

"May  26,  Wednesday,  Nish.  We  are  on  the  train 
returning  from  Nish  to  Skoplje  and  will  reach  the  latter 
place  to-morrow  morning  at  5.30  o'clock.  I  am  glad  to 
say  that  my  transportable  disinfecting  and  bathing  plants 
have  just  been  finished  and  will  be  sent  to  Skoplje  to- 


CONQUEST  OF  THE  FEVER  311 

morrow  for  use.  It  consists  of  one  car  which  contains  a 
boiler  for  generating  steam,  and  a  second  car,  formerly  a 
refrigerating  car,  which  is  practically  a  huge  autoclave, 
and  into  which  the  steam  is  turned  for  the  disinfection 
of  the  clothes;  a  third  car  in  which  there  are  fifteen 
shower  baths.  The  individuals  are  to  have  their  hair 
clipped,  to  be  bathed  and  their  clothes  disinfected  by 
steam  while  they  are  bathing.  Their  clothes  will  be 
ready  for  them  to  put  on  after  their  bath.  Before  they 
clothe  themselves  they  are  sprayed  with  petroleum.  It 
is  the  idea  also  to  vaccinate  them  immediately  after- 
wards. Several  thousand  people  can  be  bathed  and  dis- 
infected in  a  day  by  this  means  and  the  cars  can  be 
moved  from  city  to  city.  You  remember  I  used  to 
utilize  cars  with  steam  disinfection  in  Manchuria, 

"May  27,  Thursday,  Skoplje.  I  reached  here  at  5.30 
this  morning  and  after  breakfast  completed  arrangements 
for  the  inoculation  of  the  troops  against  cholera.  At 
10  o'clock  we  began  the  inoculation  and  continued  until 
about  12.30.  Everything  went  off  smoothly  and  satis- 
factorily. The  men  took  off  their  coats  and  removed 
from  the  arm  the  left  sleeve  of  the  undershirt.  The  arm 
is  scrubbed  with  soap  and  water  and  then  another  attend- 
ant paints  a  little  tincture  of  iodine  over  the  place  where 
the  inoculation  is  to  be  made.  The  men  pass  along  in 
rows  and  after  they  are  inoculated  another  attendant 
paints  the  arm  again  with  tincture  of  iodine.  One  man 
can  inoculate  about  seventy-five  patients  in  an  hour. 

"This  afternoon  has  been  spent  in  conferences  at  the 
office  with  the  prefect  and  the  civil  city  physician  here. 
I  paid  to  the  prefect  the  sum  of  5170  francs  for  the 
erection  of  the  disinfecting  and  bathing  plant  here.  I 
also  went  to  the  station  and  arranged  for  a  place  where 
the  transportable  disinfecting  plant  could  be  located. 

"I  am  now  about  to  retire  as  I  shall  be  up  at  5  o'clock 
to-morrow  morning." 

In  Beirut,  Syria,  the  American  Red  Cross  has  an 


312         UNDER  THE  RED  CROSS  FLAG 

active  chapter  that  has  more  than  once  done  good  service. 
To  it  and  the  Syrian  Protestant  College  was  left  the 
organization  of  our  Red  Cross  medical  expedition  that 
followed  a  part  of  the  Turkish  army  over  the  sandy 
desert  that  stretched  southward  from  Jerusalem  to  the 
Suez  Canal.  Dr.  St.  John  Ward,  the  professor  of  sur- 
gery at  the  college,  was  the  director  of  the  expedition, 
and  with  the  Reverend  George  Doolittle  as  assistant,  four 
German  Kaiserswerth  sisters  from  the  Johanniter  Hos- 
pital and  sixteen  medical  students,  formed  the  staff.  With 
tents  and  hospital  equipment  over  the  wonderful  road, 
through  the  Valley  of  Silk  they  went  to  the  Emerald  set 
with  Pearls,  Damascus,  on  the  first  stage  of  their  journey, 
and  where  they  received  a  cordial  welcome  from  the 
Turkish  officials.  Pushing  on  to  the  southward  on  the 
way  to  Jerusalem  one  of  the  carriages  upset,  injuring 
severely  an  arm  of  one  of  the  sisters;  but  not  for  a 
moment  would  she  be  left  behind.  Over  the  battlefields 
of  the  old  Crusaders  went  these  present-day  followers 
of  the  Cross  of  Red.  Eighteen  hours  north  of  Jerusalem 
the  equipment  had  to  be  loaded  on  camels  and  carts  to 
reach  the  city.  From  the  reports  sent  by  Dr.  Ward  and 
Mr.  Doolittle,  one  who  has  been  in  Palestine  can  visualize 
the  scenes  of  the  journey  and  the  desert  hospital. 

"From  Jerusalem  south  the  question  of  transporta- 
tion became  increasingly  difficult.  We  could  go  as  far  as 
Beersheba  in  carriages  with  a  picturesque  gendarme 
mounted  on  a  camel  as  our  guide.  To  Hafir  we  pro- 
ceeded on  mules,  and  were  at  once  urged  to  push  on 
farther  across  the  desert ;  but  we  vigorously  insisted  on 
waiting  until  the  last  of  our  equipment  had  arrived.  It 
was  a  dangerous  journey,  but  all  were  ready  to  go  and 
as  many  as  could  find  saddles  left  on  Sunday  evening, 
February  7th.  After  a  two  hours'  ride  we  were,  how- 
ever, halted,  and  sent  back  to  Hafir  to  establish  the  hos- 
pital there.  The  camp  was  at  some  distance  from  the 
main  caravan  road,  on  a  clean,  flat,  sandy  spot.  It  took 


A  DESERT  HOSPITAL  313 

three  days  of  hard  work  to  complete  our  little  white  city, 
the  entrance  of  which  was  marked  by  two  flagstaff's 
carrying  the  Red  Cross  and  the  Red  Crescent  banners. 
The  tents  were  set  up  in  long  rows  and  numbered,  and 
the  avenues  named.  The  central  one,  with  the  flagstaffs, 
was  fitly  known  as  'Wilson  Avenue/  a  slight  tribute  to 
the  honored  president  of  the  American  Red  Cross.  We 
had  beds  for  eighty-five  seriously  wounded  and  for  many 
more  slightly  wounded  who  were  placed  on  rugs  on  the 
ground.  The  government  supplied  soldiers  to  guard  the 
encampment.  Their  zeal  was  commendable  except  when 
a  hostile  aeroplane  encircled  the  camp  and  they  prepared 
to  fire  upon  it.  It  took  some  strict  injunctions  upon  the 
part  of  Dr.  Ward  to  make  plain  to  them  the  duty  of 
absolute  neutrality. 

"It  was  decided  to  establish  five  hours  beyond,  in 
the  desert,  an  advance  or  refreshment  station,  at  Wadi- 
el-Arish.  Some  on  camels  and  some  on  mules,  we  pushed 
across  the  barren  desert,  fearing  we  might  lose  our  way 
and  be  left  on  the  road  after  nightfall.  Just  as  darkness 
began  to  descend  upon  us,  in  the  distance  could  be  seen 
the  bivouac  fires  of  the  soldiers.  We  could  now  rest  at 
ease,  our  goal  in  sight,  for  the  camels  could  pick  out  the 
road  in  the  dark.  Here  a  tent  with  medical  supplies 
and  food  for  the  wounded  was  pitched  and  the  first 
caravan  of  them  made  ready  for  the  journey.  This  was 
the  farthest  point  in  the  desert  reached  by  title  American 
Red  Cross. 

"At  Hafir  the  caravan  arrived  just  after  nightfall, 
most  of  the  wounded  on  camels — those  ambulances  of 
the  desert  that  swing  and  sway  as  the  ponderous  beasts 
move  slowly  along  the  road.  Never  will  these  scenes  be 
forgotten.  The  hurried  call  for  duty  that  quickly  emptied 
the  dining  tent,  each  seizing  a  lantern  as  he  left;  the 
gruff  growling  of  a  hundred  camels  as  they  unwillingly 
knelt  and  discharged  their  loads;  the  wounded,  tired, 


314 

hungry  and  thirsty  soldiers,  so  glad  to  have  come  to  the 
end  of  the  long  journey  over  the  sands. 

"Only  three  of  our  patients  died,  and  one  of  these 
poor  soldiers,  with  broken  arm  and  leg,  had  been  carried 
several  days'  journey  sitting  on  a  camel's  back  from 
which  he  once  fell  to  the  ground. 

"There  were  many  difficulties  to  be  faced  in  this 
desert  hospital.  One  of  the  chief  was  sand  storms.  These 
came  invariably  at  nine  or  ten  in  the  morning  and  lasted 
until  the  late  afternoon.  The  sand  drifted  under  the 
tents,  through  the  doors  and  covered  everything,  tables, 
boxes  and  beds.  This  was  particularly  serious  in  the 
operating  tent.  Naturally  one  of  the  problems  was  water. 
From  the  one  large,  deep  well  of  Hafir,  a  quarter  of  a 
mile  away,  it  had  to  be  carried  in  oil  tins  on  mules, 
or  by  the  soldiers.  The  thirsty,  feverish  patients  kept 
crying  for  'Water,  only  a  little  water,'  with  which  it 
was  hard  to  keep  them,  supplied. ' ' 

Typhus  fever  proved  a  serious  menace,  especially 
where  scarcity  of  water  prohibited  much  bathing,  but  by 
sulphur  fumigation  this  was  kept  under  control.  "Our 
wounded  were  an  interesting  assortment  of  men,  mainly 
Arabs  from  Palestine  and  Syria  who  were  nearly  all 
Moslems.  They  were  most  patient,  obedient,  and  appre- 
ciative. Many  were  the  blessings  showered  on  our  heads 
by  them." 

When  the  army  moved  to  the  north  the  camp  hos- 
pital was  discontinued  and  the  men  transferred  to  those 
at  Jerusalem  by  several  caravans.  "With  the  last  section 
went  the  sisters  and  the  seriously  wounded,  in  the 
frames  of  wicker-work  tied  on  the  camels.  It  was  a 
strange  and  trying  experience  for  all,  but  no  accident 
occurred.  Travelling  by  night  and  day,  up  hills  and 
across  plains,  we  reached  Jerusalem  after  three  days' 
fatiguing  journey.  There  we  surrendered  our  patients 
to  the  regular  military  hospitals.  Thus  the  American 


A  DESERT  HOSPITAL  315 

Red  Cross  was  enabled  to  fit  into  a  place  of  special  need, 
and  to  do  a  large  share  in  relieving  the  sufferings  of 
those  of  the  Turkish  army  who  were  wounded  in  the 
fighting  at  the  Suez  Canal." 

Since  then  this  excellent  medical  corps  of  our  Red 
Cross  has  made  its  way  to  Constantinople  and  is  aiding 
there  in  the  care  of  the  sick  and  wounded  who  crowd 
the  city 's  hospitals. 

From  the  ice-bound  port  of  Archangel  on  the  north 
to  the  sands  of  the  desert  of  Palestine  on  the  south  have 
these  devoted  men  and  women  of  the  American  Red 
Cross  journeyed  to  minister  to  the  sick  and  wounded. 
They  have  endured  hardships  and  fatigue,  have  faced 
danger  and  disease ;  and  some  have  laid  down  their  lives 
in  this  service.  They  have  known  neither  race  nor  re- 
ligious faith,  but  only  the  Red  Cross  creed — Neutrality, 
Humanity. 


CHAPTER  XXIII 

A  HISTORY  OP  NOBLE  DEEDS.  THE  DAILY  SERVICE. 
OUTCLASSED  IN  MEMBERSHIP  AND  ENDOWMENT. 
ALMONER  OF  THE  PEOPLE.  AUTHORITY  IN  WAR. 
A  CASTLE  OF  DREAMS  BECOMES  ONE  OF  MARBLE. 
VISIONS  OF  THE  FUTURE. 

HALF  a  century  ago  began  the  great  humanitarian 
movement  of  the  Bed  Cross.  Half  a  century  since  has 
written  a  history  whose  many  pages  are  filled  with  deeds 
of  chivalry,  of  tenderness  and  of  brotherly  sympathy 
unequalled  in  the  records  of  the  world.  Unnumbered  are 
the  multitude  whose  tears  have  been  dried,  whose  suffer- 
ings assuaged  and  whose  lives  saved  by  its  ministrations. 

Though  only  ten  years  have  passed  since  the  rebirth 
of  the  American  Red  Cross  as  a  national  organization, 
it  has  gone  onto  a  hundred  fields  of  human  misery  and 
distress,  bringing  help  and  consolation.  To-day  not  only 
in  every  European  war-smitten  country,  but  in  troubled 
Mexico,  in  flood-stricken  China,  in  far  storm-swept  Samoa 
and  the  islands  of  the  Ladrones,  it  is  aiding  helpless 
victims  of  man's  wrath  and  of  nature's  great  destructive 
forces.  Long  after  the  cause  is  forgotten  the  work  goes 
on.  In  the  houses  its  bounty  has  provided  live  still  those 
who  without  its  aid  would  have  been  homeless;  little 
children,  old  men  and  women  are  educated  or  sheltered 
by  its  continuing  care ;  over  the  family  of  many  a  miner 
killed  in  some  terrible  explosion,  of  many  a  victim  of 
fire  or  ocean  tragedy,  it  stands  yet  the  guardian  of  the 
widow  and  orphan,  with  the  pension  that  maintains  the 
homes.  But  best  of  all  proof  of  its  wonderful  service  is 
the  still  far  greater  number  who  to-day,  because  of  its 
timely  help  and  wise  assistance  in  the  hour  of  their  trial 
and  utter  desolation,  are  once  more  strong  and  independ- 
ent men  and  women,  earning  their  honest  livelihood. 

816 


THE  DAILY  SERVICE  817 

Not  alone  does  the  individual  profit  by  this  aid,  but 
entire  communities  are  rescued  from  the  despondency 
that  follows  great  disasters.  Whether  some  little  hamlet 
or  some  large  city  suffers  from  the  overwhelming  calamity 
of  fire,  flood,  storm  or  earthquake :  or  the  still  more  pitiful 
disaster  of  widespread  famine  or  of  pestilence  settles 
over  a  great  province  or  empire, — the  people  are  brought 
down  to  desolation  and  despair.  There  are  none  at  hand 
to  help  them  in  their  wretchedness.  Without  aid  they 
must  die,  or  drift  away  from  their  homes  like  unmoored 
boats  before  a  storm,  to  be  swamped  at  sea  or  wrecked 
upon  the  rocks  of  unknown  shores.  It  is  to  these  com- 
munities that  the  strong  arms  of  the  Red  Cross  bear  aid 
from  their  brothers  of  the  nation, — if  need  be,  from 
their  kindred  of  the  world. 

Nor  are  its  services  for  humanity  limited  by  war  and 
disaster.  Into  the  daily  life  it  carries  its  capable  or- 
ganization for  continuous  usefulness.  In  the  work  of 
the  first  aid  department  lies  far-reaching  results  in  the 
preservation  of  the  wage-earner  of  the  family  and  the 
labor  producer  of  the  country.  Through  the  medium 
of  the  instructions  for  women  in  elementary  hygiene  and 
home  care  of  the  sick  the  mothers  of  the  nation  become 
of  untold  aid  in  the  maintenance  of  the  physical  health 
and  well-being  of  our  people.  Rural  and  village  life  have 
brought  to  their  homes  and  communities  the  help  of  the 
Eed  Cross  nurse,  with  her  practical  lessons  in  sanitation 
and  the  prevention  of  disease.  If  the  Red  Cross  work 
for  the  preservation  of  life  in  time  of  war  has  not  only 
its  humane  features,  but  its  patriotic  reasons  in  the  con- 
servation of  the  manhood  of  the  country,  thus,  too,  does 
it  render  in  time  of  peace  a  constant  patriotic  and  humane 
service  to  the  nation. 

With  this  proud  history  of  its  noble  deeds  in  the 
past,  with  its  great  purpose  and  its  efficient  organization, 
what  of  the  future  of  our  American  Red  Cross? 

As  yet  this  national  association  of  ours,  which  belongs 


318        UNDER  THE  RED  CROSS  FLAG 

to  the  country  and  to  the  people,  is  in  its  infancy.  Lusty 
and  vigorous  it  is  true,  but  lacking  still  the  size  and 
development  it  must  attain  before  it  is  a  worthy  repre- 
sentative of  these  United  States  of  America.  It  has 
twenty-two  thousand  members.  Eighteen  hundred  thou- 
sand men,  women  and  children  of  Japan  constitute  the 
membership  of  the  Japanese  Red  Cross.  Hundreds  of 
thousands  manifest  their  love  of  country  in  other  lands 
by  adhesion  to  the  ranks  of  their  national  association. 
Our  American  Red  Cross  has  less  than  a  million  dollar 
endowment  fund.  The  permanent  endowment  of  the 
Japanese  Red  Cross  is  nearly  thirteen  million  dollars. 
The  Russian  society  before  the  present  war  had  a  reserve 
capital  of  nineteen  million  dollars.  And  the  funds  of 
several  other  European  associations  are  far  more  than 
those  of  our  own.  In  a  country  of  such  wealth,  of  such 
patriotism  and  humanity  as  this,  the  American  people 
cannot  allow  their  Red  Cross  to  remain  without  a  just 
endowment.  They  give  with  the  utmost  liberality  to 
local  charities,  to  hospitals,  to  universities  and  colleges; 
but  they  have  yet  to  learn  to  express  the  love  for  their 
country  by  their  gifts  to  the  organization  which  stands  as 
the  embodiment  of  patriotism  both  in  war  and  peace. 
The  records  of  the  foreign  associations  bear  evidence  of 
the  constant  gifts  and  legacies  received  from  the  men 
and  women  of  Europe  and  Japan.  Here  in  America 
less  than  fifty  persons  have  contributed  more  than  two- 
thirds  of  the  nine  hundred  thousand  dollars  which  con- 
stitute the  entire  endowment  of  the  American  Red  Cross. 
Generous  donors  to  this  fund  as  they  were,  Mr.  Cleveland 
H.  Dodge,  Mrs.  Whitelaw  Reid,  and  Mrs.  E.  H.  Harri- 
man,  of  New  York,  also  make  large  annual  contributions 
to  enable  the  society  to  carry  on  its  administrative  work. 
The  words  "society"  or  "association"  are  used  in 
referring  to  the  Red  Cross  to  prevent  repetition  of  the 
name,  but  neither  of  them  conveys  an  adequate  or  cor- 
rect idea  of  its  standing  and  importance.  It  is  neither  a 


MEMBERSHIP  AND  ENDOWMENT   319 

society  nor  an  association  in  reality,  but  the  great  volun- 
teer aid  department  of  our  country  to  administer  the 
generosity  of  the  people  in  time  of  national  or  inter- 
national need.  Its  accounts  are  required  by  law  to  be 
audited  by  the  "War  Department ;  it  must  make  an  official 
annual  report  to  Congress ;  if  unworthy  of  its  high  call- 
ing, it  may  be  dissolved  by  that  body,  which  created  it; 
it  has  government  supervision  without  government  con- 
trol; and  under  an  international  treaty  it  has  received 
international  recognition. 

In  case  the  misfortune  of  war  should  fall  upon  this 
country  all  volunteer  aid  must  come  under  the  direction 
of  the  American  Bed  Cross  to  carry  out  the  obligation 
of  the  United  States  Government  under  the  Treaty  of 
Geneva,  to  fulfill  the  requirements  imposed  by  Congress, 
to  secure  efficiency  under  centralized  authority  and 
trained  organization  in  close  affiliation  with  the  army 
and  navy  medical  service,  and  finally  to  safeguard  the 
public  against  fraud  and  abuse. 

That  our  association  is  still  seriously  lacking  in  mem- 
bership and  handicapped  by  its  small  endowment  is,  I 
think,  evident  to  all ;  but  it  is  fortunate  in  its  prospects 
for  an  adequate  and  dignified  headquarters  in  Wash- 
ington. 

On  the  initiative  of  Mr.  James  A.  Scrymser,  who  him- 
self offered  one  hundred  thousand  dollars,  a  plan  was 
developed  and  matured  by  which  Congress  appropriated 
four  hundred  thousand  dollars  for  the  purchase  of  a 
site  and  the  erection  of  a  "Memorial  to  the  Heroic  Women 
of  the  Civil  War,"  to  cost  not  less  than  seven  hundred 
thousand  dollars,  provided  the  necessary  additional 
amount  was  secured  by  the  Red  Cross  from  private  con- 
tribution. Mr.  Scrymser 's  generous  gift  was  promptly 
supplemented  by  one  from  Mrs.  Russell  Sage  of  one 
hundred  and  fifty  thousand,  by  fifty  thousand  from 
Mrs.  E.  H.  Harriman,  and  by  one  hundred  thousand 
from  the  Rockefeller  Foundation.  The  commission  in 


320  UNDER  THE  RED  CROSS  FLAG 

charge  of  the  purchase  of  the  site  and  the  construction 
of  the  memorial,  of  which  the  Secretary  of  War  is  chair- 
man and  the  President  a  member,  were  most  fortunate 
in  securing  in  Washington  the  entire  square  situated 
between  the  Corcoran  Art  Gallery  and  the  Memorial 
Hall  of  the  Daughters  of  the  American  Revolution,  the 
fine  Pan-American  Building  occupying  the  fourth  square 
facing  the  White  Lot.  Here  is  being  erected  a  beautiful 
classical  building  of  white  marble,  to  be  the  administra- 
tive headquarters  in  perpetuity  of  the  Red  Cross. 

TEe  words  of  the  appeal  of  the  Loyal  Legion  which 
first  started  the  memorial  plan,  before  it  was  undertaken 
by  the  society,  express  the  thought  embodied  in  this 
monument :  ' '  Comrades,  these  women  were  your  mothers, 
your  sisters  and  your  wives.  You  know  that  they  were 
your  co-equals  in  labor  and  more  than  your  equals  in 
bitterness  of  sorrow,  for  in  your  absence  at  the  front 
they  bore  your  burdens  on  their  shoulders  and  your 
sufferings  in  their  hearts.  Will  you  quit  the  battlefield 
of  life  and  leave  no  enduring  expression  of  your  appre- 
ciation? Give,  therefore,  as  you  are  able.  Give  even  of 
your  poverty.  The  last  roll-call  is  near.  Forgetfulness 
is  injustice.  Remembrance  is  a  sacred  duty." 

On  the  walls  of  the  memorial  will  be  placed  a  tablet 
bearing  this  inscription :  "A  Memorial  built  by  the  Gov- 
ernment of  the  United  States  and  Patriotic  Citizens  to 
the  Women  of  the  North  and  the  Women  of  the  South 
held  in  Loving  Memory  by  a  now  United  Country.  That 
their  labors  to  mitigate  the  sufferings  of  the  sick  and 
wounded  in  war  may  be  forever  perpetuated  this  Me- 
morial is  dedicated  to  the  service  of  the  American  Red 
Cross." 

The  beautiful  structure  will  take  its  place  among  a 
remarkable  group  of  buildings  representing  art,  patri- 
otism and  peace,  while  the  memorial  itself  commemorates 
the  service  and  lives  of  heroic  women  of  the  past  and 
stands  as  a  symbol  of  the  brotherhood  of  man.  In  a 


A  MEMORIAL  321 

not  distant  future  other  buildings  will  cluster  about  this 
exquisite  memorial,  as  the  fields  of  our  Red  Cross  activ- 
ities grow  and  develop.  With  the  eyes  of  faith  I  see,  on 
one  side,  a  grand  priory  of  our  Knights  of  St.  John 
of  Jerusalem  who,  like  those  of  the  order  in  Eng- 
land and  other  lands,  will  take  charge,  under  the 
Bed  Cross,  of  all  the  vast  domain  of  first  aid  duties  in 
time  of  peace  and  of  the  male  personnel  in  time  of  war. 
On  the  other  side  I  see  the  graceful  priory  of  our  nursing 
order,  an  order  of  St.  Filomena,  supported  and  upheld 
by  the  patriotism  and  love  of  American  women. 

Are  these  but  visions,  or  are  they  born  of  such  faith 
in  the  Red  Cross  and  the  people  of  the  United  States 
of  America  that  they  must  become  realities? 

Amidst  destruction,  desolation  and  despair;  amidst 
suffering,  carnage  and  death,  floats  the  banner  of  hu- 
manity. Against  this  standard  no  arm  is  raised  and  no 
gun  is  fired.  United  in  the  service  of  mercy,  under  the 
one  universal  flag  of  the  Red  Cross,  are  the  nations  and 
the  peoples  of  the  world. 


APPENDIX 

THE  REVISED  TREATY  OF  GENEVA  SIGNED  JULY  6,  1906 
CHAPTEB  I. — THE  SICK  AND  WOUNDED. 

AETICLE  I.  Officers,  soldiers,  and  other  persons  officially 
attached  to  armies,  who  are  sick  or  wounded,  shall  be  respected 
and  cared  for,  without  distinction  of  nationality,  by  the  belligerent 
in  whose  power  they  are. 

A  belligerent,  however,  when  compelled  to  leave  his  wounded 
in  the  hands  of  his  adversary,  shall  leave  with  them,  so  far  as 
military  conditions  permit,  a  portion  of  the  personnel  and  materiel 
of  his  sanitary  service  to  assist  in  caring  for  them. 

AET.  2.  Subject  to  the  care  that  must  be  taken  of  them  under 
the  preceding  article,  the  sick  and  wounded  of  an  army  who 
fall  into  the  power  of  the  other  belligerent  become  prisoners  of 
war,  and  the  general  rules  of  international  law  in  respect  to 
prisoners  become  applicable  to  them. 

The  belligerents  remain  free,  however,  to  mutually  agree  upon 
such  clauses,  by  way  of  exception  or  favor,  in  relation  to  the 
wounded  or  sick  as  they  may  deem  proper.  They  shall  especially 
have  authority  to  agree : 

1.  To  mutually  return  the  sick  and  wounded  left  on  the  field 
of  battle  after  an  engagement. 

2.  To  send  back  to  their  own  country  the  sick  and  wounded 
who  have  recovered,  or  who  are  in  a  condition  to  be  transported 
and  whom  they  do  not  desire  to  retain  as  prisoners. 

3.  To  send  the  sick  and  wounded  of  the  enemy  to  a  neutral 
state,  with  the  consent  of  the  latter  and  on  condition  that  it  shall 
charge  itself  with  their  internment  until  the  close  of  hostilities. 

ABT.  3.  After  every  engagement  the  belligerent  who  remains 
in  possession  of  the  field  of  battle  shall  take  measures  to  search 
for  the  wounded  and  to  protect  the  wounded  and  dead  from 
robbery  and  ill  treatment. 

He  will  see  that  a  careful  examination  is -made  of  the  bodies 
of  the  dead  prior  to  their  internment  or  incineration. 

ABT.  4.  As  soon  as  possible  each  belligerent  shall  forward 
to  the  authorities  of  their  country  or  army  the  marks  or  military 
papers  of  identification  found  upon  the  bodies  of  the  dead,  to- 
gether with  a  list  of  names  of  the  sick  and  wounded  taken  iu 
charge  by  him. 

Belligerents  will  keep  each  other  mutually  advised  of  intern- 
ments and  transfers,  together  with  admissions  to  hospitals  and 
deaths  which  occur  among  the  sick  and  wounded  in  their  hands. 
They  will  collect  all  objects  of  personal  use,  valuables,  letters, 
etc.,  which  are  found  upon  the  field  of  battle,  or  have  been  left 
322 


APPENDIX  323 

by  the  sick  or  wounded  who  have  died  in  sanitary  formations  or 
other  establishments,  for  transmission  to  persons  in  interest 
through  the  authorities  of  their  own  country. 

ART.  5.  Military  authority  may  make  an  appeal  to  the 
charitable  zeal  of  the  inhabitants  to  receive  and,  under  its  super- 
vision, to  care  for  the  sick  and  wounded  of  the  armies,  granting 
to  persons  responding  to  such  appeals  special  protection  and 
certain  immunities. 

CHAPTER  II. — SANITARY  FORMATIONS  AND  ESTABLISHMENTS. 

ART.  6.  Mobile  sanitary  formations  (i.e.,  those  which  are 
intended  to  accompany  armies  in  the  field)  and  the  fixed  estab- 
lishments belonging  to  the  sanitary  service  shall  be  protected 
and  respected  by  belligerents. 

ART.  7.  The  protection  due  to  sanitary  formations  and 
establishments  ceases  if  they  are  used  to  commit  acts  injurious 
to  the  enemy. 

ART.  8.  A  sanitary  formation  or  establishment  shall  not  be 
deprived  of  the  protection  accorded  by  article  6  by  the  fact: 

1.  That   the    personnel   of   a   formation   or   establishment   is 
armed  and  uses  its  arms  in  self-defense  or  in  defense  of  its  sick 
and  wounded. 

2.  That   in  the  absence   of  armed   hospital   attendants,   the 
formation  is  guarded  by  an  armed  detachment  or  by  sentinels 
acting  under  competent  orders. 

3.  That  arms  or  cartridges,  taken  from  the  wounded  and  not 
yet  turned  over  to  the  proper  authorities,  are  found  in  the  for- 
mation or  establishment. 

CHAPTER  III. — PERSONNEL. 

ART.  9.  The  personnel  charged  exclusively  with  the  removal, 
transportation,  and  treatment  of  the  sick  and  wounded,  as  well 
as  with  the  administration  of  sanitary  formations  and  establish- 
ments, and  the  chaplains  attached  to  armies,  shall  be  respected 
and  protected  under  all  circumstances.  If  they  fall  into  the  hands 
of  the  enemy  they  shall  not  be  considered  as  prisoners  of  war. 

These  provisions  apply  to  the  guards  of  sanitary  formations 
and  establishments  in  the  case  provided  for  in  section  2  of  article  8. 

ART.  10.  The  personnel  of  volunteer  aid  societies,  duly  recog- 
nized and  authorized  by  their  own  governments,  who  are  employed 
in  the  sanitary  formations  and  establishments  of  armies,  are 
assimilated  to  the  personnel  contemplated  in  the  preceding  article, 
upon  condition  that  the  said  personnel  shall  be  subject  to  military 
laws  and  regulations. 

Each  state  shall  make  known  to  the  other,  either  in  time  of 
peace  or  at  the  opening,  or  during  the  progress  of  hostilities,  and 
in  any  case  before  actual  employment,  the  names  of  the  societies 
which  it  has  authorized  to  render  assistance,  under  its  responsi- 
bility, in  the  official  sanitary  service  of  its  armies. 


324     UNDER  THE  RED  CROSS  FLAG 

ART.  11.  A  recognized  society  of  a  neutral  state  can  only  lend 
the  services  of  its  sanitary  personnel  and  formations  to  a  belliger- 
ent with  the  prior  consent  of  its  own  government  and  the  authority 
of  such  belligerent.  The  belligerent  who  has  accepted  such  assist- 
ance is  required  to  notify  the  enemy  before  making  any  use  therof. 

ART.  12.  Persons  described  in  articles  9,  10,  and  11  will  con- 
tinue in  the  exercise  of  their  functions,  under  the  direction  of 
the  enemy,  after  they  have  fallen  into  his  power. 

When  their  assistance  is  no  longer  indispensable  they  will  be 
sent  back  to  their  army  or  country  within  such  period  and  by 
such  route  as  may  accord  with  military  necessity.  They  will  carry 
with  them  such  effects,  instruments,  arms,  and  horses  as  are  their 
private  property. 

ART.  13.  While  they  remain  in  his  power,  the  enemy  will 
secure  to  the  personnel  mentioned  in  article  9  the  same  pay  and 
allowances  to  which  persons  of  the  same  grade  in  his  own  army 
are  entitled. 

CHAPTER  IV. — MATERIEL. 

ART.  14.  If  mobile  sanitary  formations  fall  into  the  power 
of  the  enemy,  they  shall  retain  their  materiel,  including  the  teams, 
whatever  may  be  the  means  of  transportation  and  the  conducting 
personnel.  Competent  military  authority,  however,  shall  have  the 
right  to  employ  it  in  caring  for  the  sick  and  wounded.  The  resti- 
tution of  the  matSriel  shall  take  place  in  accordance  with  the 
conditions  prescribed  for  the  sanitary  personnel,  and,  as  far  as 
possible,  at  the  same  time. 

ART.  15.  Buildings  and  materiel  pertaining  to  fixed  estab- 
lishments shall  remain  subject  to  the  laws  of  war,  but  can  not  be 
diverted  from  their  use  so  long  as  they  are  necessary  for  the  sick 
and  wounded.  Commanders  of  troops  engaged  in  operations,  how- 
ever, may  use  them,  in  case  of  important  military  necessity,  if, 
before  such  use,  the  sick  and  wounded  who  are  in  them  have  been 
provided  for. 

ART.  16.  The  materiel  of  aid  societies  admitted  to  the  bene- 
fits of  this  convention,  in  conformity  to  the  conditions  therein 
established,  is  regarded  as  private  property  and,  as  such,  will 
be  respected  under  all  circumstances,  save  that  it  is  subject  to 
the  recognized  right  of  requisition  by  belligerents  in  conformity 
to  the  laws  and  usages  of  war. 

CHAPTER  V. — CONVOYS  OF  EVACUATION. 

ART.  17.  Convoys  of  evacuation  shall  be  treated  as  mobile 
sanitary  formations  subject  to  the  following  special  provisions: 

1.  A  belligerent  intercepting  a  convoy  may,  if  required  by 
military  necessity,  break  up  such  convoy,  charging  himself  with 
the  care  of  the  sick  and  wounded  whom  it  contains. 

2.  In  this  case  the  obligation  to  return  the  sanitary  personnel, 


APPENDIX  325 

a8  provided  for  in  article  12,  shall  be  extended  to  include  the 
entire  military  personnel  employed,  under  competent  orders,  in 
the  transportation  and  protection  of  the  convoy. 

The  obligation  to  return  the  sanitary  materiel,  as  provided 
for  in  article  14,  shall  apply  to  railway  trains  and  vessels  in- 
tended for  interior  navigation  which  have  been  especially  equipped 
for  evacuation  purposes,  as  well  as  to  the  ordinary  vehicles,  trains, 
and  vessels  which  belong  to  the  sanitary  service. 

Military  vehicles,  with  their  teams,  other  than  those  belonging 
to  the  sanitary  service,  may  be  captured. 

The  civil  personnel  and  the  various  means  of  transportation 
obtained  by  requisition,  including  railway  materiel  and  vessels  util- 
ized for  convoys,  are  subject  to  the  general  rules  of  international 
law. 

CHAPTER  VI. — DISTINCTIVE  EMBLEM. 

ART.  18.  Out  of  respect  to  Switzerland  the  heraldic  emblem 
of  the  red  cross  on  a  white  ground,  formed  by  the  reversal  of  the 
federal  colors,  is  continued  as  the  emblem  and  distinctive  sign 
of  the  sanitary  service  of  armies. 

ABT.  19.  This  emblem  appears  on  flags  and  brassards  as  well 
as  upon  all  materiel  appertaining  to  the  sanitary  service,  with 
the  permission  of  the  competent  military  authority. 

ABT.  20.  The  personnel  protected  in  virtue  of  the  first  para- 
graph of  article  9,  and  articles  10  and  11,  will  wear  attached  to 
the  left  arm  a  brassard  bearing  a  red  cross  on  a  white  ground, 
which  will  be  issued  and  stamped  by  competent  military  authority, 
and  accompanied  by  a  certificate  of  identity  in  the  case  of  per- 
sons attached  to  the  sanitary  service  of  armies  who  do  not  have 
military  uniform. 

ABT.  21.  The  distinctive  flag  of  the  convention  can  only  be 
displayed  over  the  sanitary  formations  and  establishments  which 
the  convention  provides  shall  be  respected,  and  with  the  consent 
of  the  military  authorities.  It  shall  be  accompanied  by  the 
national  flag  of  the  belligerent  to  whose  service  the  formation  or 
establishment  is  attached. 

Sanitary  formations  which  have  fallen  into  the  power  of  the 
enemy,  however,  shall  fly  no  other  flag  than  that  of  the  Red  Cross 
so  long  as  they  continue  in  that  situation. 

ABT.  22.  The  sanitary  formations  of  neutral  countries  which, 
under  the  conditions  set  forth  in  article  11,  have  been  authorized 
to  render  their  services,  shall  fly,  with  the  flag  of  the  convention, 
the  national  flag  of  the  belligerent  to  which  they  are  attached. 
The  provisions  of  the  second  paragraph  of  the  preceding  article 
are  applicable  to  them. 

ABT.  23.  The  emblem  of  the  red  cross  on  a  white  ground 
and  the  words  Red  Cross  or  Geneva  Cross  may  only  be  used, 
whether  in  time  of  peace  or  war,  to  protect  or  designate  sanitary 
formations  and  establishments,  the  personnel  and  materiel  pro- 
tected by  the  convention. 


326     UNDER  THE  RED  CROSS  FLAG 

CHAPTEB  VII. — APPLICATION  AND  EXECUTION  OF  THE 
CONVENTION 

ABT.  24.  The  provisions  of  the  present  convention  are  obliga- 
tory only  on  the  contracting  powers,  in  case  of  war  between  two 
or  more  of  them.  The  said  provisions  shall  cease  to  be  obligatory 
if  one  of  the  belligerent  powers  should  not  be  signatory  to  the 
convention. 

ABT.  25.  It  shall  be  the  duty  of  the  commanders  in  chief  of 
the  belligerent  armies  to  provide  for  the  details  of  execution  of 
the  foregoing  articles,  as  well  as  for  unforeseen  cases,  in  accord- 
ance with  the  instructions  of  their  respective  governments,  and 
conformably  to  the  general  principles  of  this  convention. 

ART.  26.  The  signatory  governments  shall  take  the  neces- 
sary steps  to  acquaint  their  troops,  and  particularly  the  protected 
personnel,  with  the  provisions  of  this  convention  and  to  make 
them  known  to  the  people  at  large. 

CHAPTER  VIII. — REPRESSION  OF  ABUSES  AND  INFRACTIONS 

ART.  27.  The  signatory  powers  whose  legislation  may  not 
now  be  adequate  engage  to  take  or  recommend  to  their  legislatures 
such  measures  as  may  be  necessary  to  prevent  the  use,  by  private 
persons  or  by  societies  other  than  those  upon  which  this  conven- 
tion confers  the  right  thereto,  of  the  emblem  or  name  of  the  Red 
Cross  or  Geneva  Cross,  particularly  for  commercial  purposes  by 
means  of  trade-marks  or  commercial  labels. 

The  prohibition  of  the  use  of  the  emblem  or  name  in  question 
shall  take  effect  from  the  time  set  in  each  act  of  legislation,  and 
at  the  latest  five  years  after  this  convention  goes  into  effect. 
After  such  going  into  effect,  it  shall  be  unlawful  to  use  a  trade- 
mark or  commercial  label  contrary  to  such  prohibition. 

ART.  28.  In  the  event  of  their  military  penal  laws  being 
insufficient,  the  signatory  governments  also  engage  to  take,  or  to 
recommend  to  their  legislatures,  the  necessary  measures  to  re- 
press, in  time  of  war,  individual  acts  of  robbery  and  ill  treatment 
of  the  sick  and  wounded  of  the  armies,  as  well  as  to  punish,  as 
usurpations  of  military  insignia,  the  wrongful  use  of  the  flag 
and  brassard  of  the  Red  Cross  by  military  persons  or  private  in- 
dividuals not  protected  by  the  present  convention. 

They  will  communicate  to  each  other  through  the  Swiss 
Federal  Council  the  measures  taken  with  a  view  to  such  repres- 
sion, not  later  than  five  years  from  the  ratification  of  the  present 
convention. 

GENERAL  PROVISIONS 

ART.  29.  The  present  convention  shall  be  ratified  as  soon  as 
possible.  The  ratifications  will  be  deposited  at  Berne. 

A  record  of  the  deposit  of  each  act  of  ratification  shall  be 
prepared,  of  which  a  duly  certified  copy  shall  be  sent,  through 
diplomatic  channels,  to  each  of  the  contracting  powers. 


APPENDIX  327 

ABT.  30.  The  present  convention  shall  become  operative,  as 
to  each  power,  six  months  after  the  date  of  deposit  of  its  ratifi- 
cation. 

ABT.  31.  The  present  convention,  when  duly  ratified,  shall 
supersede  the  Convention  of  August  22,  1864,  in  the  relations  be- 
tween the  contracting  states. 

The  Convention  of  1864  remains  in  force  ii  the  relations 
between  the  parties  who  signed  it  but  who  may  not  also  ratify 
the  present  convention. 

ABT.  32.  The  present  convention  may,  until  December  31, 
proximo,  be  signed  by  the  powers  represented  at  the  conefrence 
which  opened  at  Geneva  on  June  11,  1906,  as  well  as  by  the 
powers  not  represented  at  the  conference  who  have  signed  the 
Contention  of  1864. 

Such  of  these  powers  as  shall  not  have  signed  the  present 
convention  on  or  before  December  31,  1906,  will  remain  at  liberty 
to  accede  to  it  after  that  date.  They  shall  signify  their  adherence 
in  a  written  notification  addressed  to  the  Swiss  Federal  Council, 
and  communicated  to  all  the  contracting  powers  by  the  said 
Council. 

Other  powers  may  request  to  adhere  in  the  same  manner, 
but  their  request  shall  only  be  effective  if,  within  the  period  of 
one  year  from  its  notification  to  the  Federal  Council,  such  Council 
has  not  been  advised  of  any  opposition  on  the  part  of  any  of  the 
contracting  powers. 

ABT.  33.  Each  of  the  contracting  parties  shall  have  the  right 
to  denounce  the  present  convention.  This  denunciation  shall  only 
become  operative  one  year  after  a  notification  in  writing  shall 
have  been  made  to  the  Swiss  Federal  Council,  which  shall  forth- 
with communicate  such  notification  to  all  the  other  contracting 
parties. 

This  denunciation  shall  only  become  operative  in  respect  to 
the  power  which  has  given  it. 

In  faith  whereof  the  plenipotentiaries  have  signed  the  present 
convention  and  affixed  their  seals  thereto. 

Done  at  Geneva,  the  sixth  day  of  July,  one  thousand  nine 
hundred  and  six,  in  a  single  copy,  which  shall  remain  in  the 
archives  of  the  Swiss  Confederation  and  certified  copies  of  which 
shall  be  delivered  to  the  contracting  parties  through  diplomatic 
channels. 

(Here   follow    the    signatures.) 

CONGRESSIONAL  CHARTER. 

AN  Act  to  incorporate  the  American  National  Red  Cross. 

WHEREAS,  on  the  twenty-second  of  August,  eighteen  hundred 
and  sixty-four,  at  Geneva,  Switzerland,  plenipotentiaries  respec- 
tively representing  Italy,  Baden,  Belgium,  Denmark,  Spain,  Portu- 
gal, France,  Prussia,  Saxony,  and  Wurttemberg  and  the  Federal 
Council  of  Switzerland  agreed  upon  ten  articles  of  a  treaty  or 
convention  for  the  purpose  of  mitigating  the  evils  inseparable 


828  UNDER  THE  RED  CROSS  FLAG 

from  war;  of  ameliorating  the  condition  of  soldiers  wounded  on 
the  field  of  battle,  and  particularly  providing,  among  other  things, 
in  effect,  that  persons  employed  in  hospitals  and  in  according 
relief  to  the  sick  and  wounded  and  supplies  for  this  purpose  shall 
be  deemed  neutral  and  entitled  to  protection;  and  that  a  distinc- 
tive and  uniform  flag  shall  be  adopted  for  hospitals  and  ambu- 
lances and  convoys  of  sick  and  wounded  and  an  arm  badge  for 
individuals  neutralized ;  and 

WHEREAS,  said  treaty  has  been  ratified  by  all  of  said  nations, 
and  by  others  subsequently,  to  the  number  of  forty-three  or  more, 
including  the  United  States  of  America;  and 

WHEBEAS,  the  International  Conference  of  Geneva  of  eighteen 
hundred  and  sixty-three  recommended  "  that  there  exist  in  every 
country  a  committee  whose  mission  consists  in  co-operating  in  times 
of  war  with  the  hospital  service  of  the  armies  by  all  means  in 
its  power  " ;  and 

WHEREAS,  a  permanent  organization  is  an  agency  needed  in 
every  nation  to  carry  out  the  purposes  of  said  treaty,  and  espe- 
cially to  secure  supplies  and  to  execute  the  humane  objects  con- 
templated by  said  treaty,  with  the  power  to  adopt  and  use  the 
distinctive  flag  and  arm  badge  specified  by  said  treaty  in  article 
seven,  on  which  shall  be  the  sign  of  the  Red  Cross,  for  the  purpose 
of  co-operating  with  the  "  Comite  International  de  Secours  aux 
Militaires  Blesses"  (International  Committee  of  Relief  for  the 
Wounded  in  War)  ;  and 

WHEREAS,  in  accordance  with  the  requirements  and  customs 
of  said  international  body  such  an  association  adopting  and  using 
said  insignia  was  formed  in  the  city  of  Washington,  District  of 
Columbia,  in  July,  eighteen  hundred  and  eighty-one,  known  as 
"  The  American  National  Association  of  the  Red  Cross,"  re-in- 
corporated April  seventeenth,  eighteen  hundred  and  ninety-three, 
under  the  laws  of  the  District  of  Columbia,  and  re -incorporated  by 
Act  of  Congress  in  June,  nineteen  hundred;  and 

WHEREAS,  it  is  believed  that  the  importance  of  the  work  de- 
mands a  repeal  of  the  present  charter  and  a  re-incorporation  of 
the  society  under  Government  supervision:  Now,  therefore, 

Be  it  enacted  by  the  Senate  and  House  of  Representatives  of 
the  United  States  of  America  in  Congress  assembled,  That  Clara 
Barton,  Hilary  A.  Herbert,  Thomas  F.  Walsh,  Charles  C.  Glover, 
Charles  J.  Bell,  Mabel  T.  Boardman,  George  Dewey,  William  R. 
Day,  Nelson  A.  Miles,  James  Tanner,  William  K.  Van  Reypen, 
John  M.  Wilson,  Simon  Wolf,  James  R.  Garfield,  Gifford  Pinchot, 
S.  W.  Woodward,  Mary  A.  Logan,  Walter  Wyman,  of  Washing- 
ton, District  of  Columbia ;  George  H.  Shields,  of  Missouri ;  William 
H.  Taft,  F.  B.  Loomis,  Samuel  Mather,  of  Ohio;  Spencer  Trask, 
Robert  C.  Ogden,  Cleveland  H.  Dodge,  George  C.  Boldt,  William 
T.  Wardell,  John  G.  Carlisle,  George  B.  McClellan,  Elizabeth  Mills 
Reid,  Margaret  Carnegie,  of  New  York;  John  H.  Converse,  Alex- 
ander Mackay-Smith,  J.  Wilkes  O'Neill,  H.  Kirke  Porter,  of 
Pennsylvania;  Richard  Olney,  W.  Murray  Crane,  Henry  L.  Higgin- 


APPENDIX  329 

son,  William  Draper,  Frederick  H.  Gillett,  of  Massachusetts; 
Marshall  Field,  Robert  T.  Lincoln,  Lambert  Tree,  of  Illinois; 
A.  C.  Kaufman,  of  South  Carolina;  Alexander  W.  Terrell,  of 
Texas;  George  Gray,  of  Delaware;  Redfield  Proctor,  of  Vermont; 
John  W.  Foster,  Noble  C.  Butler,  Robert  W.  Miers,  of  Indiana; 
John  Sharp  Williams,  of  Mississippi;  William  Alden  Smith,  of 
Michigan;  Horace  Davis,  W.  W.  Morrow,  of  California;  Daniel  C. 
Gilman,  Eugene  Levering,  of  Maryland ;  J.  Taylor  Ellyson,  of  Vir- 
ginia; Daniel  R.  Noyes,  of  Minnesota;  Emanuel  Fiske,  Marshall 
Fiske,  of  Connecticut,  together  with  five  other  persons  to  be  named 
by  the  President  of  the  United  States,  one  to  be  chosen  from 
each  of  the  departments  of  State,  War,  Navy,  Treasury,  and  Jus- 
tice, their  associates  and  successors,  are  hereby  created  a  body 
corporate  and  politic  in  the  District  of  Columbia. 

SEC.  2.  That  the  name  of  this  corporation  shall  be  "  The 
American  National  Red  Cross,"  and  by  that  name  shall  have  per- 
petual succession,  with  the  power  to  sue  and  be  sued  in  courts  of 
law  and  equity  within  the  jurisdiction  of  the  United  States;  to 
have  and  to  hold  such  real  and  personal  estate  as  shall  be  deemed 
advisable  and  to  accept  bequests  for  the  purposes  of  this  corpora- 
tion hereinafter  set  forth;  to  adopt  a  seal  and  the  same  to  alter 
and  destroy  at  pleasure;  and  to  have  the  right  to  have  and  to 
use  in  carrying  out  its  purposes  hereinafter  designated,  as  an 
emblem  and  badge,  a  Greek  red  cross  on  a  white  ground,  as  the 
same  has  been  described  in  the  treaty  of  Geneva,  August  twenty- 
second,  eighteen  hundred  and  sixty-four,  and  adopted  by  the  several 
nations  acceding  thereto;  to  ordain  and  establish  By-Laws  and 
regulations  not  inconsistent  with  the  laws  of  the  United  States  of 
America  or  any  State  thereof,  and  generally  to  do  all  such  acts 
and  things  (including  the  establishment  of  regulations  for  the 
election  of  associates  and  successors)  as  may  be  necessary  to 
carry  into  effect  the  provisions  of  this  Act  and  promote  the  purposes 
of  said  organization;  and  the  corporation  hereby  created  is  desig- 
nated as  the  organization  which  is  authorized  to  act  in  matters 
of  relief  under  said  treaty.  In  accordance  with  article  seven  of 
the  treaty,  the  delivery  of  the  brassard  allowed  for  individuals 
neutralized  in  time  of  war  shall  be  left  to  military  authority. 

SEC.  3.  That  the  purposes  of  this  corporation  are  and  shall 
be- 
First.  To  furnish  volunteer  aid  to  the  sick  and  wounded 
of  armies  in  time  of  war,  in  accordance  with  the  spirit  and  con- 
ditions of  the  conference  of  Geneva  of  October,  eighteen  hundred 
and  sixty-three,  and  also  of  the  treaty  of  the  Red  Cross,  or  the 
treaty  of  Geneva,  of  August  twenty-second,  eighteen  hundred  and 
sixty-four,  to  which  the  United  States  of  America  gave  its  adhe- 
sion on  March  first,  eighteen  hundred  and  eighty-two. 

Second.  And  for  said  purposes  to  perform  all  the  duties  de- 
volved upon  a  national  society  by  each  nation  which  has  acceded 
to  said  treaty. 

Third.  To  succeed  to  all  the  rights  and  property  which  have 
been  hitherto  held  and  to  all  the  duties  which  have  heretofore 


330  UNDER  THE  RED  CROSS  FLAG 

been  performed  by  the  American  National  Red  Cross  as  a  cor- 
poration duly  incorporated  by  Act  of  Congress  June  sixth,  nine- 
teen hundred,  which  Act  is  hereby  repealed  and  the  organization 
created  thereby  is  hereby  dissolved. 

Fourth.  To  act  in  matters  of  voluntary  relief  and  in  accord 
with  the  military  and  nava'l  authorities  as  a  medium  of  communi- 
cation between  the  people  of  the  United  States  of  America  and 
their  Army  and  Navy,  and  to  act  in  such  matters  between  similar 
national  societies  of  other  governments  through  the  "  Comite  In- 
ternational de  Secours,"  and  the  Government  and  the  people  and 
the  Army  and  Navy  of  the  United  States  of  America. 

Fifth.  And  to  continue  and  carry  on  a  system  of  national 
and  international  relief  in  time  of  peace  and  to  apply  the  same 
in  mitigating  the  sufferings  caused  by  pestilence,  famine,  fire, 
floods,  and  other  great  national  calamities,  and  to  devise  and 
carry  on  measures  for  preventing  the  same. 

SEC.  4.  That  from  and  after  the  passage  of  this  Act  it  shall 
be  unlawful  for  any  person  within  the  jurisdiction  of  the  United 
States  to  falsely  and  fraudulently  hold  himself  out  as,  or  repre- 
sent or  pretend  himself  to  be,  a  member  of,  or  an  agent  for,  the 
American  National  Red  Cross,  for  the  purpose  of  soliciting,  collect- 
ing, or  receiving  money  or  material;  or  for  any  person  to  wear 
or  display  the  sign  of  the  Red  Cross,  or  any  insignia  colored  in  imi- 
tation thereof  for  the  fraudulent  purpose  of  inducing  the  belief 
that  he  is  a  member  of,  or  an  agent  for,  the  American  National 
Red  Cross.  Nor  shall  it  be  lawful  for  any  person  or  corporation, 
other  than  the  Red  Cross  of  America,  not  now  lawfully  entitled 
to  use  the  sign  of  the  Red  Cross,  hereafter  to  use  such  sign  or 
any  insignia  colored  in  imitation  thereof  for  the  purposes  of  trade 
or  as  an  advertisement  to  induce  the  sale  of  any  article  whatsoever. 
If  any  person  violates  the  provisions  of  this  section,  he  shall  be 
guilty  of  a  misdemeanor  and  shall  be  liable  to  a  fine  of  not  less 
than  one  nor  more  than  five  hundred  dollars,  or  imprisonment 
for  a  term  not  exceeding  one  year,  or  both,  for  each  and  every 
offense.  The  fine  so  collected  shall  be  paid  to  the  American  Na- 
tional Red  Cross. 

SEC.  5.  That  the  governing  body  of  the  said  American  Na- 
tional Red  Cross  shall  consist,  in  the  first  instance,  of  a  central 
committee  numbering  eighteen  persons,  to  be  appointed  in  the 
following  manner,  namely:  Six  by  the  incorporators  herein  named 
and  twelve  by  the  President  of  the  United  States,  one  of  whom 
shall  be  designated  by  the  President  to  act  as  chairman.  It  shall 
be  the  duty  of  the  central  committee  to  organize,  with  as  little 
delay  as  possible,  State  and  Territorial  societies,  including  the 
District  of  Columbia,  under  such  rules  as  the  said  committee  may 
prescribe.  When  six  or  more  State  or  Territorial  societies  have 
been  formed,  thereafter  the  central  committee  shall  be  composed 
as  follows:  Six  to  be  appointed  by  the  incorporators,  six  by 
the  representatives  of  the  State  and  Territorial  societies  at  the 
annual  meeting  of  the  incorporators  and  societies,  and  six  by  the 


APPENDIX  331 

President  of  the  United  States,  one  of  whom  shall  be  designated 
by  him  as  chairman  and  one  each  to  be  named  by  him  from  the 
Departments  of  State,  War,  Navy,  Treasury,  and  Justice. 

The  first  six  members  of  the  central  committee  elected  by 
the  incorporators  at  the  first  annual  meeting,  and  the  first  six 
members  of  the  central  committee  elected  by  the  State  and  Terri- 
torial delegates,  shall  when  elected  select  by  lot  from  their  num- 
ber two  members  to  serve  one  year,  two  members  to  serve  two 
years,  and  two  members  to  serve  three  years,  and  each  subsequent 
election  of  members  shall  be  for  a  period  of  three  years  or  until 
their  sucessors  are  duly  elected  and  qualify.  The  six  members 
of  the  central  committee  appointed  by  the  President  at  the  annual 
meeting  shall  serve  for  one  year. 

The  President  shall  fill  as  soon  as  may  be  any  vacancy 
that  may  occur  by  death,  resignation,  or  otherwise  in  the  chair- 
manship or  in  the  membership  of  the  central  committee  appointed 
by  him.  And  any  vacancy  that  may  occur  in  the  six  members  of  the 
central  committee  herein  provided  to  be  appointed  by  the  incor- 
porators or  in  the  six  to  be  appointed  by  the  representatives  of 
the  State  societies  shall  be  filled  by  temporary  appointments  to 
be  made  by  the  remaining  members  of  the  six  in  which  the  vacancy 
or  vacancies  may  occur,  such  appointees  to  serve  until  the  next 
annual  meeting. 

The  central  committee  shall  have  power  to  appoint  from  its 
own  members  an  executive  committee  of  seven  persons,  five  of  whom 
shall  be  a  quorum,  who,  when  the  central  committee  is  not  in 
session,  shall  have  and  exercise  all  the  powers  of  the  central 
committee. 

The  Secretary  of  War  shall  within  thirty  days  after  the 
passage  of  this  Act  call  a  meeting  at  a  time  and  place  to  be 
designated  by  him  in  the  city  of  Washington  of  the  incorporators 
hereunder,  giving  at  least  thirty  days'  notice  thereof  in  one  or 
more  newspapers,  and  the  annual  meeting  of  said  incorporators, 
their  associates  and  successors,  shall  thereafter  be  held  in  said  city 
on  the  first  Tuesday  after  the  first  Monday  in  December,  the  first 
of  said  meetings  to  be  held  in  December,  nineteen  hundred  and 
five.  Fifteen  members  shall  constitute  a  quorum  at  any  annual 
or  special  meeting. 

Voting  by  proxy  shall  not  be  allowed  at  any  meeting  of  the 
incorporators,  annual  or  special,  nor  at  any  meeting  of  State  or 
Territorial  societies  organized  under  the  provisions  of  this  charter. 

SEC.  6.  That  the  said  American  National  Red  Cross  shall 
on  the  first  day  of  January  of  each  year  make  and  transmit  to 
the  Secretary  of  War  a  report  of  its  proceedings  for  the  preced- 
ing year,  including  a  full  complete,  and  itemized  report  of  receipts 
and  expenditures  of  whatever  kind,  which  report  shall  be  duly 
audited  by  the  War  Department,  and  a  copy  of  said  report  shall 
be  transmitted  to  Congress  by  the  War  Department. 

SEC.  7.  That  Congress  shall  have  the  right  to  repeal,  alter, 
or  amend  this  Act  at  any  time. 

Approved,  January  5,  1905. 


33*  UNDER  THE  RED  CROSS  FLAG 

AMENDMENT 

An  Act  to  amend  an  Act  entitled  "  An  Act  to  incorporate  the 
American  National  Red  Cross,"  approved  January  fifth,  nineteen 
hundred  and  five. 

Be  it  enacted  by  the  Senate  and  House  of  Representatives  of 
the  United  States  of  America  in  Congress  assembled,  That  section 
four  of  the  Act  entitled  "  An  Act  to  incorporate  the  American 
National  Red  Cross,"  approved  January  fifth,  nineteen  hundred 
and  five,  is  hereby  amended  to  read  as  follows: 

"  SEC.  4.  That  from  and  after  the  passage  of  this  Act  it  shall 
be  unlawful  for  any  person  within  the  jurisdiction  of  the  United 
States  to  falsely  or  fraudulently  hold  himself  out  as  or  represent 
or  pretend  himself  to  be  a  member  of  or  an  agent  for  the  American 
National  Red  Cross  for  the  purpose  of  soliciting,  collecting,  or 
receiving  money  or  material  or  for  any  person  to  wear  or  display 
the  sign  of  the  Red  Cross  or  any  insignia  colored  in  inducing 
the  belief  that  he  is  a  member  of  or  an  agent  for  the  American 
National  Red  Cross.  It  shall  be  unlawful  for  any  person,  cor- 
poration, or  association  other  than  the  American  National  Red 
Cross  and  its  duly  authorized  employees  and  agents  and  the  army 
and  navy  sanitary  and  hospital  authorities  of  the  United  States 
for  the  purpose  of  trade  or  as  an  advertisement  to  induce  the 
sale  of  any  article  whatever  or  for  any  business  or  charitable 
purpose  to  use  within  the  territory  of  the  United  States  of 
America  and  its  exterior  possessions  the  emblem  of  the  Greek 
Red  Cross  on  a  white  ground,  or  any  sign  or  insignia  made  or 
colored  in  imitation  thereof,  or  of  the  words  '  Red  Cross '  or 
'  Geneva  Cross '  or  any  combination  of  these  words :  Provided, 
however,  That  no  person,  corporation,  or  association  that  actually 
used  or  whose  assignor  actually  used  the  said  emblem,  sign,  in- 
signia, or  words  for  any  lawful  purpose  prior  to  January  fifth, 
nineteen  hundred  and  five,  shall  be  deemed  forbidden  by  this  Act 
to  continue  the  use  thereof  for  the  same  purpose  and  for  the  same 
class  of  goods.  If  any  person  violates  the  provisions  of  this  sec- 
tion he  shall  be  deemed  guilty  of  a  misdemeanor,  and  upon  con- 
viction in  any  federal  court  shall  be  liable  to  a  fine  of  not  less 
than  one  nor  more  than  five  hundred  dollars,  or  imprisonment 
for  a  term  not  exceeding  one  year,  or  both,  for  each  and  every 
offense." 

SEC.  2.  That  the  following  section  is  hereby  added  to  said 
Act: 

"  SEC.  8.  That  the  endowment  fund  of  the  American  National 
Red  Cross  shall  be  kept  and  invested  under  the  management  and 
control  of  a  board  of  nine  trustees,  who  shall  be  elected  from 
time  to  time  by  the  incorporators  and  their  successors  under  such 
regulations  regarding  terms  and  tenure  of  office,  accountability, 
and  expense  as  said  incorporators  and  successors  shall  prescribe." 

Approved,  June  23,  1910. 


APPENDIX  333 

AMENDMENT 

An  Act  to  amend  Section  Five  of  the  Act  entitled  "  An  Act 
to  Incorporate  the  American  Red  Cross,"  approved  January  fifth, 
nineteen  hundred  and  five. 

Be  it  enacted  by  the  Senate  and  House  of  Representatives  of 
the  United  States  of  America  in  Congress  assembled,  That  section 
five  of  the  Act  for  the  Incorporation  of  the  American  National 
Red  Cross,  approved  January  fifth,  nineteen  hundred  and  five,  be, 
and  the  same  hereby  is,  amended  so  that  the  annual  meeting  of  the 
said  organization  shall  hereafter  be  held  on  the  Wednesday 
preceding  the  second  Thursday  in  the  month  of  December  in 
each  and  every  year. 

SEC.  2.     That  this  Act  shall  take  effect  immediately. 

Approved,  December  10,  1912. 


J.     B.     LIPPINCOTT     COMPANY'S 
New     and     Forthcoming     Books 


Peg  Along 


By  GEORGE  L.  WALTON,  M.D.  i2mo.  Cloth,  Si.oo  net. 
Dr.  Walton's  slogan,  "Why  Worry,"  swept  the  country. 
His  little  book  of  that  title  did  an  infinite  amount  of  good. 
"Peg  Along"  is  the  1915  slogan.  Hundred:  of  thousands 
of  fussers,  fretters,  semi-  and  would-be  invalids,  and  all 
other  halters  by  the  wayside  should  be  reached  by 
Dr.  Walton's  stirring  encouragement  to  "peg  along."  In 
this  new  book  he  shows  us  how  to  correct  our  missteps  of 
care,  anxiety,  fretting,  fear,  martyrism,  over-insistence, 
etc.,  by  teaching  us  real  steps  in  the  chapters  on  work 
and  play,  managing  the  mind,  Franklin's  and  Bacon's 
methods,  etc.,  etc.  Send  coj,  ies  of  this  inspiring  little  work 
to  friends  who  appreciate  bright  wisdom.  Win  them  into 
joyful,  happy  "peggers  along"  to  health  and  happiness. 

Under  the  Red  Cross  Flag 

At  Home  and  Abroad 

By  MABEL  T.  BOARDMAN,  Chairman  of  the  National  Relief 

Board,  American    Red    Cross. 

Foreword  by  PRESIDENT  WOODROW  WILSON. 

Fully  illustrated.    Decorated  cloth.    Gilt  top.    $1.50  net. 

The  American  Red  Cross  and  the  name  of  Miss  Boardman 
have  been  inseparably  connected  for  many  years;  her  own 
story  is  one  of  fascinating  human  interest  to  all  who  feel  a 
bond  of  sympathy  with  those  who  suffer.  To-day  it  is 
the  European  War,  but  in  unforgotten  yesterdays  there 
was  the  Philippine  Typhoon,  the  Vesuvian  Eruption,  the 
Chinese  Famine,  and  almost  countless  other  disasters 
in  which  the  heroes  and  heroines  of  the  Red  Cross  have 
worked  and  met  danger  in  their  effort  to  alleviate  the 
sufferings  of  humanity.  This  is  the  only  complete  his- 
torical work  upon  the  subject  that  has  yet  been  written; 
no  one,  accounting  experience  and  literary  ability,  is 
better  fitted  to  present  the  facts  than  is  the  author. 


Joseph  Pennell's  Pictures 
In  the  Land  of  Temples 

With  40  plates  in  photogravure  from  lithographs.  Introduction 
by  W.  H.  D.  Rouse,  LittD.  Crown  quarto.  Lithograph  on 
cover.  $1.25  net. 

Mr.  Pennell's  wonderful  drawings  present  to  us  the 
immortal  witnesses  of  the  "Glory  that  was  Greece"  just 
as  they  stand  to-day,  in  their  environment  and  the  golden 
atmosphere  of  Hellas.  Whether  it  be  the  industrial  giants 
portrayed  in  "Pictures  of  the  Panama  Canal"  or  antique 
temples  presented  in  this  fascinating  volume,  the  great 
lithographer  proves  himself  to  be  a  master  craftsman  of 
this  metier.  The  art  of  Greece  is  perhaps  dead,  but  we 
are  fortunate  in  having  such  an  interpreter.  There  is 
every  promise  that  this  book  will  have  the  same  value 
among  artists  and  book  lovers  as  had  his  others. 
"The  isles  of  Greece,  the  isles  of  Greece! 

Where  burning  Sappho  loved  and  sung," 
have  never  had  a  more  appreciative  and  sympathetic  lover. 

Christmas  Carol     ;  ,*/i/ 

By  CHARLES  DICKENS.  13  illustrations  in  color  and  many 
in  black  and  white  by  Arthur  Rackham.  Octavo.  Decorated 
cloth.  $1.50  net. 

All  the  praise  that  can  be  showered  upon  Joseph  Pennell 
as  a  master  lithographer,  is  also  the  due  mead  of  Arthur 
Rackham  as  the  most  entrancing  and  mysterious  color 
illustrator  in  Europe.  His  work  is  followed  by  an  army 
of  picture  lovers  of  all  types  and  of  all  ages,  from  the 
children  in  the  nurseries  whose  imagination  he  stirs  with 
the  fiery-eyed  dragons  of  some  fairy  illustration,  to  the 
ambitious  artists  in  every  country  who  look  to  him  as  an 
inspiring  master. 

If  the  decision  had  been  left  to  the  book-reading  and 
picture-loving  public  as  to  the  most  eligible  story  for 
treatment,  we  believe  that  the  Christmas  Carol  would 
have  been  chosen.  The  children  must  see  old  Scrouge 
and  Tiny  Tim  as  Rackham  draws  them. 


Historic  Virginia  Homes 
and  Churches        v    I 

By  ROBERT  A.  LANCASTER,  JR.   About  300  illustrations  and 
a  photogravure  frontispiece.    Quarto.    In  a  box,  cloth,  gilt  top, 
$7.50  net.    Half  morocco,  $12.50  net.   A  Limited  Edition  printed 
from  type,  uniform  with  the  Pennells*  "Our  Philadelphia." 
Virginians  are  justly  proud  of  the  historical  and  archi- 
tectural glories  of  the  Old  Dominion.    All  America  looks 
to  Virginia  as  a  Cradle  of  American  thought  and  culture. 
This  volume  is  a  monument  to  Virginia,  persons  and  places, 
past  and  present.    It  has  been  printed  in  a  limited  edition 
and  the  type  has  been  distributed.    This  is  not  a  volume 
of  padded  value;  it  is  not  a  piece  of  literary  hack-work. 
It  has  been  a  labor  of  love  since  first  undertaken  some 
twenty-five  years  ago.    The  State  has  done  her  part  by 
providing  the  rich  material,  the  Author  his  with  pains- 
taking care  and  loving  diligence,  and  the  Publishers  theirs 
by  expending  all  the  devices  of  the  bookmaker's  art. 

Quaint  and  Historic     I 
Forts  of  North  America 

By  JOHN  MARTIN  HAMMOND,  Author  of  "  Colonial  Man- 
sions of  Maryland  and  Delaware."  With  photogravure  frontis- 
piece and  sixty-five  illustrations.  Ornamental  cloth,  gilt  top, 
in  a  box.  $5.00  net. 

This  is  an  unique  volume  treating  a  phase  of  American 
history  that  has  never  before  been  presented.  Mr.  Ham- 
mond, in  his  excellent  literary  style  with  the  aid  of  a 
splendid  camera,  brings  us  on  a  journey  through  the  exist- 
ing old  forts  of  North  America  and  there  describes  their 
appearances  and  confides  in  us  their  romantic  and  historic 
interest.  We  follow  the  trail  of  the  early  English,  French 
and  Spanish  adventurers,  and  the  soldiers  of  the  Revolu- 
tion, the  War  of  1812  and  the  later  Civil  and  Indian  Wars. 
We  cover  the  entire  country  from  Quebec  and  Nova  Scotia 
to  California  and  Florida,  with  a  side  trip  to  Havana  to 
appreciate  the  weird  romance  of  the  grim  Morro  Castle. 
Here  is  something  new  and  unique. 


The  Magic  of  Jewels  and  Charms 

By  GEORGE  FREDERICK  KUNZ,  A.M.,  PH.D.,  D.SC. 
With  numerous  plates  in  color,  doubletone  and  line.  Deco- 
rated cloth,  gilt  top,  in  a  box.  $5.00  net.  Half  morocco,  $10.00 
net.  Uniform  in  style  and  size  with  "  The  Curious  Lore  of 
Precious  Stones."  The  two  volumes  in  a  box,  $10.00  net. 

It  will  probably  be  a  new  and  surely  a  fascinating  sub- 
ject to  which  Dr.  Kunz  introduces  the  reader.  The  most 
primitive  savage  and  the  most  highly  developed  Cauca- 
sian find  mystic  meanings,  symbols,  sentiments  and,  above 
all,  beauty  in  jewels  and  precious  stones;  it  is  of  this  magic 
lore  that  the  distinguished  author  tells  us.  In  past  ages 
there  has  grown  up  a  great  literature  upon  the  subject — 
books  in  every  language  from  Icelandic  to  Siamese,  from 
Sanskrit  to  Irish — the  lore  is  as  profound  and  interesting 
as  one  can  imagine.  In  this  Volume  you  will  find  the 
unique  information  relating  to  the  magical  influence  which 
precious  stones,  amulets  and  crystals  have  been  supposed 
to  exert  upon  individuals  and  events. 

The  Civilization  of  Babylonia 
and  Assyria 

By  MORRIS  JASTROW,  JR.,  PH.D.,  LL.D.  140  illustrations. 
Octavo.  Cloth,  gilt  top,  in  a  box,  $6.00  net. 

This  work  covers  the  whole  civilization  of  Babylonia 
and  Assyria,  and  by  its  treatment  of  the  various  aspects 
of  that  civilization  furnishes  a  comprehensive  and  com- 
plete survey  of  the  subject.  The  language,  history, 
religion,  commerce,  law,  art  and  literature  are  thoroughly 
presented  in  a  manner  of  deep  interest  to  the  general 
reader  and  indispensable  to  historians,  clergymen,  anthro- 
pologists and  sociologists.  The  volume  is  elaborately 
illustrated  and  the  pictures  have  been  selected  with  the 
greatest  care  so  as  to  show  every  aspect  of  this  civilization,1 
which  alone  disputes  with  that  of  Egypt,  the  fame  of 
being  the  oldest  in  the  world.  For  Bible  scholars  the 
comparisons  with  Hebrew  traditions  and  records  will  have 
intense  interest. 


English  Ancestral  Homes  of 
Noted  Americans 

By  ANNE  HOLLINGSWORTH  WHARTON,  Author  of  "  In 
Chateau  Land,"  etc.,  etc.  28  illustrations.  i2mo.  Cloth  $2.00 
net.  Half  morocco,  $4.00  net. 

Miss  Wharton  so  enlivens  the  past  that  she  makes  the 
distinguished  characters  of  whom  she  treats  live  and  talk 
with  us.  She  has  recently  visited  the  homelands  of  a  num- 
ber of  our  great  American  leaders  and  we  seem  to  see  upon 
their  native  heath  the  English  ancestors  of  George  Wash- 
ington, Benjamin  Franklin,  William  Penn,  the  Pilgrim 
Fathers  and  Mothers,  the  Maryland  and  Virginia  Cava- 
liers and  others  who  have  done  their  part  in  the  making 
of  the  United  States.  Although  this  book  is  written  in  an 
entertaining  manner,  and  with  many  anecdotes  and  by- 
paths to  charm  the  reader,  it  is  a  distinct  addition  to  the 
literature  of  American  history  and  will  make  a  superb  gift 
for  the  man  or  woman  who  takes  pride  in  his  or  her  library. 

Heroes  and  Heroines  of  Fiction 

Classical,  Mediaeval  and  Legendary 

By  WILLIAM  S.  WALSH.  Half  morocco,  Reference  Library 
style,  $3.00  net.  Uniform  with  "  Heroes  and  Heroines  of  Fic- 
tion, Modern  Prose  and  Poetry."  The  two  volumes  in  a  box, 
$6.00  net. 

The  fact  that  the  educated  men  of  to-day  are  not  as 
familiar  with  the  Greek  and  Roma  i  classics  as  were  their 
fathers  gives  added  value  to  Mr.  Walsh's  fascinating  com- 
pilation. He  gives  the  name  and  cetting  of  all  the  any- 
wise important  characters  in  the  literature  of  classical, 
mediaeval  and  legendary  times.  To  one  who  is  accustomed 
to  read  at  all  widely,  it  will  be  found  of  the  greatest  assist- 
ance and  benefit;  to  one  who  writes  it  will  be  invaluable. 
These  books  comprise  a  complete  encyclopedia  of  inter- 
esting, valuable  and  curious  facts  regarding  all  the  char- 
acters of  any  note  whatever  in  literature.  This  is  the 
latest  addition  to  the  world-famous  Lippincott's  Readers' 
Reference  Library.  Each  volume,  as  published,  has  be- 
come a  standard  part  of  public  and  private  libraries 


A  Wonderful  Story  of  Heroism 

The  Home  of  the  Blizzard 

By  SIR  DOUGLAS  MAWSON.  Two  volumes.  315  remark- 
able photographs.  16  colored  plates,  drawings,  plans,  maps,  etc. 
8vo.  $9.00  net. 

Have  you  heard  Sir  Douglas  lecture?  If  you  have,  you 
will  want  to  read  this  book  that  you  may  become  better 
acquainted  with  his  charming  personality,  and  to  preserve 
in  the  three  hundred  and  fifteen  superb  illustrations  with 
the  glittering  text,  a  permanent  record  of  the  greatest 
battle  that  has  ever  been  waged  against  the  wind,  the 
snow,  the  crevice  ice  and  the  prolonged  darkness  of  over 
two  years  in  Antarctic  lands. 

It  has  been  estimated  by  critics  as  the  most  interesting 
and  the  greatest  account  of  Polar  Exploration.  For  in- 
stance, the  London  Athenaeum,  an  authority,  said :  "  No 
polar  book  ever  written  has  surpassed  these  volumes  in 
sustained  interest  or  in  the  variety  of  the  subject  matter." 
It  is  indeed  a  tale  of  pluck,  heroism  and  infinite  endurance 
that  comes  as  a  relief  in  the  face  of  accounts  of  the  same 
qualities  sacrificed  in  Europe  for  a  cause  so  less  worthy. 

To  understand  "courage"  you  must  read  the  author's 
account  of  his  terrific  struggle  alone  in  the  blizzard, — an 
eighty-mile  fight  in  a  hurricane  snow  with  his  two  com- 
panions left  dead  behind  him. 

The  wild  life  in  the  southern  seas  is  multitudinous;  whole 
armies  of  dignified  penguins  were  caught  with  the  camera; 
bluff  old  sea-lions  and  many  a  strange  bird  of  this  new 
continent  were  so  tame  that  they  could  be  easily  ap- 
proached. For  the  first  time  actual  colored  photographs 
bring  to  us  the  flaming  lights  of  the  untrodden  land.  They 
are  unsurpassed  in  any  other  work. 

These  volumes  will  be  a  great  addition  to  your  library; 
whether  largu  or  small,  literary  or  scientific,  they  are  an 
inspiration,  a  delight  to  read. 


By  RALPH  HENRY  BARBOUR.  Illustrations  in  color  by 
H.  Weston  Taylor.  Page  Decorations  by  Edward  Stratton  Hollo- 
way.  Handsome  cloth  binding.  In  sealed  packet.  $1.50  net. 

This  is  the  tale  of  a  summer  love  affair  carried  on  by  an 
unusual  but  altogether  bewitching  lover  in  a  small  summer 
resort  in  New  England.  Allan  Shortland,  a  gentleman, 
a  tramp,  a  poet,  and  withal  the  happiest  of  happy  men, 
is  the  hero;  Beryl  Vernon,  as  pretty  as  the  ripple  of  her 
name,  is  the  heroine.  Two  more  appealing  personalities 
are  seldom  found  within  the  covers  of  a  book.  Fun  and 
plenty  of  it,  romance  and  plenty  of  it, — and  an  end  full 
of  happiness  for  the  characters,  and  to  the  reader  regret 
that  the  story  is  over.  The  illustrations  by  H.  Weston 
Taylor,  the  decorations  by  Edward  Stratton  Holloway  and 
the  tasteful  sealed  package  are  exquisite. 

A  New  Volume  in  THE  STORIES 
ALL  CHILDREN  LOVE  SERIES 


Heidi 


By  JOHANNA  SPYRI.  Translated  by  ELISABETH  P. 
STORK.  Introduction  by  Charles  Wharton  Stork.  With  eight 
illustrations  in  color  by  Maria  L.  Kirk.  Svo.  $1.25  net. 

This  is  the  latest  addition  to  the  Stories  All  Children 
Love  Series.  The  translation  of  the  classic  story  has 
been  accomplished  in  a  marvellously  simple  and  direct 
fashion, — it  is  a  high  example  of  the  translator's  art. 
American  children  should  be  as  familiar  with  it  as  they 
are  with  "Swiss  Family  Robinson,"  and  we  feel  certain 
that  on  Christmas  Day  joy  will  be  brought  to  the 
nurseries  in  which  this  book  is  a  present.  The  illustra- 
tions by  Maria  L.  Kirk  are  of  the  highest  calibre, — the 
color,  freshness  and  fantastic  airiness  present  just  the 
spark  to  kindle  the  imagination  of  the  little  tots. 


HEWLETT'S  GREATEST  WORK: 

Romance,  Satire  and  a  German 

The  Little  Iliad  l 

By  MAURICE  HEWLETT.    Colored  frontispiece  by  Edward 
Burne- Jones.    i2mo.    $1.35  net. 

A  "Hewlett"  that  you  and  every  one  else  will  enjoy! 
It  combines  the  rich  romance  of  his  earliest  work  with  the 
humor,  freshness  and  gentle  satire  of  his  more  recent. 

The  whimsical,  delightful  novelist  has  dipped  his  pen 
in  the  inkhorn  of  modern  matrimonial  difficulties  and 
brings  it  out  dripping  with  amiable  humor,  delicious  but 
fantastic  conjecture.  Helen  of  Troy  lives  again  in  the 
Twentieth  Century,  but  now  of  Austria;  beautiful,  be- 
witching, love-compelling,  and  with  it  all  married  to  a 
ferocious  German  who  has  drained  the  cup  and  is  now 
squeezing  the  dregs  of  all  that  life  has  to  offer.  He  has 
locomotor  ataxia  but  that  does  not  prevent  his  Neitschean 
will  from  dominating  all  about  him,  nor  does  it  prevent 
Maurice  Hewlett  from  making  him  one  of  the  most  inter- 
esting and  portentous  characters  portrayed  by  the  hand 
of  an  Englishman  in  many  a  day.  Four  brothers  fall  in 
love  with  the  fair  lady, — there  are  amazing  but  happy 
consequences.  The  author  has  treated  an  involved  story 
in  a  delightful,  naive  and  refreshing  manner. 

The  Sea-Hawk      :1  / 

By  RAPHAEL  SABATINI.    i2mo.    Cloth.    $1.25  net. 

Sabatini  has  startled  the  reading  public  with  this  mag- 
nificent romance!  It  is  a  thrilling  treat  to  find  a  vivid, 
clean-cut  adventure  yarn.  Sincere  in  this,  we  beg  you, 
brothers,  fathers,  husbands  and  comfortable  old  bachelors, 
to  read  this  tale  and  even  to  hand  it  on  to  your  friends  of 
the  fairer  sex,  provided  you  are  certain  that  they  do  not 
mind  the  glint  of  steel  and  the  chrieks  of  dying  captives. 


The  Man  From  the  -  ft 

Bitter  Roots  (, , :c ,^< iOorS-T 

By  CAROLINE  LOCKHART.    3  illustrations  in  color  by  Gayle 

Hoskins.    121110.    $1.25  net. 

"Better  than  'Me-Smith'" — that  is  the  word  of  those 
who  have  read  this  story  of  the  powerful,  quiet,  competent 
Bruce  Burt.  You  recall  the  humor  of  "Me-Smith," — 
wait  until  you  read  the  wise  sayings  of  Uncle  Billy  and 
the  weird  characters  of  the  Hinds  Hotel.  You  recall  some 
of  those  flashing  scenes  of  "Me-Smith" — wait  until  you 
read  of  the  blizzard  in  the  Bitter  Roots,  of  Bruce  Burt 
throwing  the  Mexican  wrestling  champion,  of  the  reckless 
feat  of  shooting  the  Roaring  River  with  the  dynamos  upon 
the  rafts,  of  the  day  when  Bruce  Burt  almost  killed  a  man 
who  tried  to  burn  out  his  power  plant, — then  you  will 
know  what  hair-raising  adventures  really  are.  The  tale 
is  dramatic  from  the  first  great  scene  in  that  log  cabin 
in  the  mountains  when  Bruce  Burt  meets  the  murderous 
onslaught  of  his  insane  partner. 


By  ELEANOR  M.  INGRAM.    Illustrated  in  color  by  Edmund 
Frederick.    lamo.    $1.25  net. 

The  key  words  to  all  Miss  Ingram's  stories  are  "fresh- 
ness," "speed"  and  "vigor."  "From  the  Car  Behind" 
was  aptly  termed  "one  continuous  joy  ride."  "A  Man's 
Hearth"  has  all  the  vigor  and  go  of  the  former  story  and 
also  a  heart  interest  that  gives  a  wider  appeal.  A  young 
New  York  millionaire,  at  odds  with  his  family,  finds  his 
solution  in  working  for  and  loving  the  optimistic  nurse- 
maid who  brought  him  from  the  depths  of  trouble  and 
made  for  him  a  hearthstone.  There  are  fascinating  side 
issues  but  this  is  the  essential  story  and  it  is  an  inspiring 
one.  It  will  be  one  of  the  big  books  of  the  winter. 


By  the  author  of  " MARCIA  SCHUYLER" 
"LO!  MICHAEL"  "THE  BEST  MAN"  etc. 

The  Obsession  of  Victoria  Gracen 

By  GRACE  LIVINGSTON  HILL  LUTZ.    Illustrated  in  color. 
i2mo.    $1.25  net. 

Every  mother,  every  church-worker,  every  individual 
who  desires  to  bring  added  happiness  into  the  lives  of 
others  should  read  this  book.  A  new  novel  by  the  author 
of  "Marcia  Schuyler"  is  always  a  treat  for  those  of  us 
who  want  clean,  cheerful,  uplifting  fiction  of  the  sort  that 
you  can  read  with  pleasure,  recommend  with  sincerity  and 
remember  with  thankfulness.  This  book  has  the  exact 
touch  desired.  The  story  is  of  the  effect  that  an  orphan 
boy  has  upon  his  lonely  aunt,  his  Aunt  Vic.  Her  obsession 
is  her  love  for  the  lad  and  his  happiness.  There  is  the 
never-failing  fund  of  fun  and  optimism  with  the  high 
religious  purpose  that  appears  in  all  of  Mrs.  Lutz's  excel- 
lent stories. 


Miranda 


By  GRACE  LIVINGSTON  HILL  LUTZ.    Illustrated  in  color 
by  E.  L.  Henry.    i2mo.    $1.25  net. 

Nearly  all  of  us  fell  in  love  with  Miranda  when  she  first 
appeared  in  "Marcia  Schuyler,"  but  those  who  missed 
that  happiness  will  now  find  her  even  more  lovable  in 
this  new  book  of  which  she  is  the  central  figure.  From 
cover  to  cover  it  is  a  tale  of  optimism,  of  courage,  of 
purpose.  You  lay  it  down  with  a  revivified  spirit,  a 
stronger  heart  for  the  struggle  of  this  world,  a  clearer 
hope  for  the  next,  and  a  determination  to  make  yourself 
and  the  people  with  whom  you  come  in  contact  cleaner, 
more  spiritual,  more  reverent  than  ever  before.  It  is 
deeply  religious  in  character:  a  novel  that  will  bring  the 
great  spiritual  truths  of  God,  character  and  attainment 
straight  to  the  heart  of  every  reader. 


"GRIPPING"  DETECTIVE  TALES 

The  White  Alley      S 

By  CAROLYN  WELLS.    Frontispiece.    i2mo.    $1.25  net. 

FLEMING  STONE,  the  ingenious  American  detective, 
has  become  one  of  the  best  known  characters  in  modern 
fiction.  He  is  the  supreme  wizard  of  crime  detection  in 
the  WHITE  BIRCHES  MYSTERY  told  in,— "THE 
WHITE  ALLEY." 

The  Boston  Transcript  says:  "As  an  incomparable 
solver  of  criminal  enigmas,  Stone  is  in  a  class  by  himself. 
A  tale  which  will  grip  the  attention."  This  is  what 
another  says : — "  Miss  Wells's  suave  and  polished  detective, 
Fleming  Stone,  goes  through  the  task  set  for  him  with 
celerity  and  dispatch.  Miss  Wells's  characteristic  humor 
and  cleverness  mark  the  conversations." — New  York  Times. 

The  Woman  in  the  Car 

j        By  RICHARD  MARSH.    i2mo.    $1.35  net. 

Do  you  like  a  thrilling  tale?  If  so,  read  this  one  and 
we  almost  guarantee  that  you  will  not  stir  from  your  chair 
until  you  turn  the  last  page.  As  the  clock  struck  midnight 
on  one  of  the  most  fashionable  streets  of  London  in  the 
Duchess  of  Ditchling's  handsome  limousine,  ArthurTowzer, 
millionaire  mining  magnate,  is  found  dead  at  the  wheel, 
horribly  mangled.  Yes,  this  is  a  tale  during  the  reading 
of  which  you  will  leave  your  chair  only  to  turn  up  the 
gas.  When  you  are  not  shuddering,  you  are  thinking; 
your  wits  are  balanced  against  the  mind  and  system  of 
the  famous  Scotland  Yard,  the  London  detective  head- 
quarters. The  men  or  women  who  can  solve  the  mystery 
without  reading  the  last  few  pages  will  deserve  a  reward, — 
they  should  apply  for  a  position  upon  the  Pinkerton  force. 


THE  NOVEL   THEY'RE  ALL    TALKING  ABOUT 

The  Rose -Garden  Husband 

By  MARGARET  WIDDEMER.     Illustrated  by  Walter  Biggs. 
Small  i2mo.    $1.00  net. 

"A  Benevolent  Friend  just  saved  me  from  missing  '  The 
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story  is  now  cut  out  and  stitched  and  in  my  collection 
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healthy  tone  in  this  that  puts  it  above  most  of  these 
choice  ones.  And  a  smoothness  of  action,  a  reality  of 
motive  and  speech  that  comforts  the  soul  of  a  veteran 
reviewer."  From  a  Letter  to  the  Publishers. 

Edition  after  edition  of  this  novel  has  been  sold,  surely 
you  are  not  going  to  miss  it.  It  is  going  the  circle  of  family 
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tale."  Order  it  now, — the  cost  is  but  one  dollar. 

The  Diary  of  a  Beauty 

By  MOLLY  ELLIOT  SEAWELL.   Illustrated  by  William  Dorr 
Steele.    izmo.   $1.25  net 

From  the  assistant  postmistress  in  a  small  New  England 
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is  the  story  told  not  as  outsiders  saw  it,  but  as  the  beau- 
tiful heroine  experiences  it, — an  account  so  naive,  so 
deliciously  cunning,  so  true,  that  the  reader  turns  page 
after  page  with  an  inner  feeling  of  absolute  satisfaction. 

The  Dusty  Road 

By  THERESE  TYLER.    Frontispiece  by  H.  Weston  Taylor. 
i2mo.    $1.25  net. 

This  is  a  remarkable  story  of  depth  and  power, — the 
struggle  of  Elizabeth  Anderson  to  clear  herself  of  her 
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day,  nor  every  year,  nor  every  ten  years.  It  is  stimulating 
to  a  higher,  truer  life. 


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Treating  of  English  Period  Furniture,  and  American  Furniture 
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— The  Dial. 


The  Practical  Book  of  Outdoor 


NEW  EDITION 
REVISED  AND  ENLARGED 

By  GEORGE  C.  THOMAS,  JR.  Elaborately  illustrated  with 
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The  Practical  Book  of  Garden 
Architecture 

By  PHEBE  WESTCOTT  HUMPHREYS.  Frontispiece  in  color 
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Our  Philadelphia 

By  ELIZABETH  ROBINS  PENNELL.  Illustrated  by  Joseph 
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Life  of  James  McNeill  Whistler 

By  ELIZABETH  ROBINS  and  JOSEPH  PENNELL.    Thor- 
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TT    •  j  •     By  JOHANNA  SPYRI. 
rleidl    Translated  by  Elisabeth  P.  Stork. 

The  Cuckoo  Clock      By  MRS.  MOLESWORTH. 

The  Swiss  Family  Robinson    G.  EdMrrroN. 

The  Princess  and  the  Goblin 

The  Princess  and  Curdie 

At  the  Back  of  the  North  Wind 

A  Dog  of  Flanders    By  "OUEDA.» 

Bimbi    By  «  OUIDA." 

Mopsa,  the  Fairy     By  JEAN  INGELOW. 

The  Chronicles  of  Fairyland  By  FERGUS  HUME. 

Hans  Andersen's  Fairy  Tales 

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